City of Angels
by Helmi1
Summary: Sequel to Different turn in life. Angel is making amends in LA and Buffy starts studying in UCLA. Angel season 1 and Buffy season 5 mixed together. B/A all the way.
1. Back to LA

Title: City of Angels

Author: Helmi1

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Some of the dialog is from actual Angel seasn 1 and Buffy season 5 episodes.

Rating: T, for now anyway

Pairing: B/A

Summary: Sequel to Different turn in life. Angel is making amends in LA and Buffy starts studying in UCLA. Angel season 1 and Buffy season 5 mixed together. B/A all the way.

Spoilers: Angel season 1, Buffy season 5

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Chapter 1: Back to L.A

Buffy and Angel moved to LA and for once everything went smoothly, since Angel had the problem with the sunlight sunlight, he bought an old office building which had living quarters downstairs. The office space and the apartment itself were still a mess, just bed, couch and a kitchen table were in place while the floor was filled with unpacked boxes.

Angel walked through the office and entered the elevator, pulling the gate down and going down to the apartment.

"Buffy?" he called out to the seemingly empty apartment and soon her head popped from the bedroom. She had a wide smile on her face, her hair was on a tight ponytail and a red bandanna wrapped around her head and her baggy clothes were full of splodges of paint.

"What have you been doing?" he asked suspiciously with a small smile playing on his lips. "Nothing", she answered trying to look innocent but failing. He raised his eyebrow and made his way to the bedroom. When he saw the room, he couldn't help but chuckle, there was a bunch of cleaning supplies on the corner, old news papers covering the floor and bed, the walls were half painted with antique white paint but the most amusing sight was her since it seemed that there was more paint on her than the walls.

"The walls looked kinda grimy, old and depressing", she explained nervously. "I was hoping, I'd manage to finish this before you got back. Do you hate it?" she asked wringing her fingers. He just laughed at her and pulled her into his arms, smearing the paint into his clothes also and pulled her into a soft kiss.

"I like it. Not too bright and not too dark. I'm guessing it will look good once its finished", he assured her and her smile returned to her lips

"You really think so?" He nodded and leaned into another kiss. They pulled apart as they heard Doyle clearing his throat in the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt but we've got a problem", he said raising his hands in the air in surrender as Angel threw a annoyed glance at his way. "What is it?" Angel asked and went to Doyle who pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. Angel took it and read it out loud: "Tina. Coffee spot." He glanced at Doyle.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" "Talk to her, find out what kind of trouble she's in. That's your problem, I just write them down", he answered shrugging.

"Why would a woman that I don't know, want to talk to a perfect stranger like me?" "Have you looked into the mirror lately?" Doyle asked and seeing the look Buffy was giving him, to change the approach. "Nice walls", he said and pulled Angel out of the room with him.

"I'm not good with people. I don't know what to say to her", Angel exclaimed. "Sure you know, you've got a girlfriend", Doyle said not understanding where Angel was going.

"Buffy is different. She knows what I am." "I have no idea how you managed to get such a hot girlfriend with your conversational skills", Doyle chuckled.

"He followed me into a dark alley and I knocked him down on his ass", came Buffy's voice from behind them. Both men turned around to look at her and she took few steps into the room.

"Since Angel's going for a damsel hunt, you're in painting duty in his place. Make yourself useful", she said and pressed a paintbrush into Doyle's hand.

"Good luck, honey", she whispered into Angels ear and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "I'll see you later", he answered, stealing one more kiss and left. Buffy watched him go and without even looking at Doyle, she said: "Remind me again, why can't I go with him."

"You can help him, darling, but he needs to do the dirty work himself", Doyle answered and was about to throw the brush to the table but was stopped by the look Buffy gave him.

"Just because you get visions, you're not getting off so easily, you and me are going to paint that bedroom before Angel gets back", she ordered and when he didn't move, she lifted her eyebrow.

"Do you really want me to remind you, I'm the slayer and I'm loosing my patience with that wall, I've been scrubbing it for half the day and breathing in all those cleaning fumes, after that I've managed to paint myself more than the wall. Come on, you help me paint that room and I'll give you a beer." "Well now, who could resist that offer", Doyle smirked.

.

Angel was waiting by his car after Tina got off from work and after some threatening with maze and confirming that he wasn't working for any Russell, they talked and he offered her a lift to a party she was going. She convinced him to join her and he did but soon discovered he was severely out of place. What he wouldn't give for Buffy to be with him, it would be so much bearable, there was too many people.

"You are a beautiful, beautiful man", he heard a man say to him and looked at the shorter man in surprise and confusion, not sure what to say to that. "Thanks", he finally said.

"You're an actor", the man stated but Angel shook his head. "No." The man offered him his business card and said: "I'm Oliver. Ask anyone about Oliver. I'm a fierce animal. I'm your agent as soon as you call me." Angel was still little confused and rattled.

"I'm not an actor", he tried again but Oliver wouldn't listen. "Funny. I like that. I like the whole thing. Call me. This isn't a come on. I'm in a very serious relationship with a landscape architect." With that Oliver walked away, leaving confused Angel staring at the card till he heard a familiar voice.

"Cordelia?", he said to himself in surprise. He walked towards the unmistakable rattling of the young woman.

"Cordelia?" he acknowledged his presence and the woman turned to look at him with a shriek: "Oh, my god. Angel!" Angel gave her a small smile.

"Nice to see a familiar face", he stated warmly. "I didn't know you were in LA. Are you living here?" "Yeah. You?" he asked politely.

"Malibu. A small condo on the beach. It's not a private beach, but I'm young so I forbear", she chatted back. "You're acting?" he kept up the polite conversation in hope that she would keep his mind busy till he could leave the party.

"Can you believe it? I mean I just started it to make some quick cash, and then boom, it was like my life! I've been in New York for a year, on Broadway, you know but now I decided to quit waisting my talent and come here to start in movies", she continued and after a while added: "So are you still..." She lifted her hands up as claws and scrunched her face in demonstration before making a Grrr-sound.

"Yeah, there's not actually a cure for that", he answered feeling slightly amused inside. "Right, but you're not evil, I mean your not here to bite people?" she asked raising her neatly plucked brows.

"No, I'm here with a friend", he assured her. "Oh good", she said absently. "Well, it was nice seeing you, but I've got to get mingly. I really should be talking to people that ARE somebody", she added and walked away.

"It's nice that she's grown as a person", Angel mumbled to himself as he watched her go back to the suits. He turned around just in time to see a man grab a hold of Tina's arm and say to her that Russell wanted to see her. He was about to make a move to help her but she pulled her hand free and made her way to Angel.

"Could we please go", she said and Angel nodded, leaving the party with Tina. "Who was that?" he asked as they stepped into the elevator.

"Just Stacy, he's a creep", she answered, her tone making it sure that she didn't want to talk about it. The elevator stopped at the garage but before they could step out, three men lunged at them, two of them tackling Angel and the third pulling Tina out as the elevator doors closed. He growled in annoyance and quickly knocked the two men unconscious.

He stepped out of the elevator in time to see Tina being forced into a car and it speeding away. He sprinted into run and jumped into a black convertible, trying to start the car in the quick movement but finding the keys didn't fit. In a second he noticed that his car was parked in a different space, he jumped off the car he was sitting and soon he was speeding to the car that held Tina. He kept driving towards the car, heading for a collision but the other car pulled over before it could happen, crashing into parked cars. Angel pulled over his car and made his way to the other, slamming the car door to the goon that tried to get out and snatching his gun away from him before aiming it at Stacy.

"Whoever you are, you don't want to get involved here, trust me", Stacy said but Angel didn't pay any attention to his words. He turned to look at Tina, still keeping an eye on the dirtbag he had the gun aimed at.

"Tina, get in the car", he said and she quickly did as ordered. "You know what? I don't think you're going to pull that trigger", Stacy said confidently and suddenly Angel punched him with his free hand. The man feel ungracefully to the concrete floor. "Good call", Angel stated and threw the gun on top of the unconscious man before making his way to his car.

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Angel took Tina to the apartment which to his surprise was empty. He found a note from Buffy on the refrigerator door, saying that she went on to a patrol. He quickly snapped the note down, hiding it under a breadbox and proceeded to boil the water, finding the cups and other needed things.

"Just moved here?" Tina asked looking around the apartment but not moving from the room. "Yeah. I made some tea. Milk or sugar?" he asked and poured the boiling water into two cups. "Both", she answered, smiling nervously. Angel went through the cupboards and finally turned to her.

"I don't think I have any", he said sheepishly, it wasn't like he needed any food and Buffy wasn't much of a baker. "I don't get too many visitors", he clarified and handed the other cup to her. She glanced at the weapons hanged to the wall and few that peaked from the boxes and stated: "At least not the kind you like." Angel just gave her a weak smile.

"So, is this the part where you comfort me?" she asked but to her surprise, Angel shook his head. "No. I have a girlfriend, and I think you've been taken advantage by too many people already", he said and she gave him a humorless laugh.

"Boy, are you in the wrong town", she said trying to keep her tears at bay, she fell sitting down to the couch. He quickly grabbed a piece of paper towel and handed it to her.

"Does Russell have a last name?" he asked. "Yeah, but you don't need to know it, you've done too much already." "I want to help", he tried but she just shook her head while drying her tears. "It's too dangerous, he's the kinda guy who gets away with murder", she continued, her eyes showing fear. "Who did he murder?"

"I don't know, not necessarily anyone. He likes pain, he practically loves it. You don't leave him, he tells when he's had enough. My friend, Denise, she tried to leave him and no one has seen her since", she said, tears again flowing freely down her cheeks. "It's okay", he assured her and pulled her into a comforting hug, letting her weep against his shoulder.

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Angel pulled the blanket more firmly around sleeping Tina and he spun around as he head the door open and close. He glanced at the clock, it was dawn in an hour or so. Buffy walked down the stairs and raised her eyebrow as she saw the sleeping blond on their couch.

"That's Tina", he explained seeing her look and with two long strides reached and pulled her into a quick kiss. "How was patrol?" he asked her, stealing one more kiss before they made their way to the bedroom, not to wake Tina.

"It was okay, four vamps and a demon with two heads, I've never come by one of those. Did you notice I forced Doyle into painting the walls with me."

"How you managed that?" he asked suspiciously. "I threatened with bodily harm", she answered cheekily but he looked at her in disbelief.

"Doyle knows by now its just talk." "Yeah", she sighed and added: "I miss Spike, I don't have anyone to taunt here." Angel raised his eyebrow at her in disbelief and she just looked at him innocently.

"I bought Doyle a beer, that's how I got him paint the room", she confessed. "How was your night? And what kind of trouble is she since you had to bring her here?"

"I'm not sure yet, some Russell guy is after her. She's actually trying to get back home to Missoula, Illinois. Did I ever tell you I visited there during the depression?" he answered and she gave him a crooked smile.

"Hope you didn't mention that to her." He just smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Could you look after her while I go to the library?" he asked. "Yeah, sure. What you up to?" "Her friend disappeared and I'm just going to look if I can find anything that sheds some light into it."

"Okay, just be careful, it's gonna be light soon", she chastised and he couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself", he said and she gave him a smirk. "Don't I know it", was her reply and he send her a dirty look, feeling the weight of the words.

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Buffy was sitting in the kitchen with a steaming coffee cup in hand, Angel had been gone for few hours and as always, she couldn't help but feel little uneasy of him being out during the day. She rolled her eyes at herself, he knew how to take care of himself and stay out the sunlight, he had been doing fine for over two hundred and forty years.

She jumped up from the table as she heard the Tina-girl whimpering almost in pain. In a flash she was by the couch and shaking her awake from the nightmare she was having. "Tina, wake up", she said and the girl jumped into sitting, breathing heavily and clearly confused where she was.

"He was here!" she whimpered automatically not caring who it was that woke her. "There's nobody here but you and me. It's okay, it was just a nightmare", Buffy said in a soft tone, trying to comfort the woman she hadn't even met yet. Tina looked around her, clearly her head clearing from the dream she had been having and she turned to look at Buffy in question.

"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously. "I'm Buffy, Angel girlfriend", Buffy introduced herself and offered a hand which Tina took with a small reluctance.

"Where's Angel?" she asked, she thought the 'I have a girlfriend' had been just a line to make her feel safer with him, but she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that he had been telling the truth, not that she was looking for a boyfriend anytime soon.

"He went out, to look into what happened to your friend", Buffy answered and saw from the corner of her eyes as Angel climbed from the trap door in the floor. She could see from the look in his eyes that he didn't come with good news. She went to him and took a hold of his hand, causing him to look into her eyes.

"I'm gonna go to the grocery store to get breakfast", she said to him and he understood what it really meant, that he could tell Tina his news in private. He gave her a quick kiss to the cheek before she left through the stairs and he made his way to Tina. Tina looked at Angel expectantly and he decided to go straight to the point.

"Did your friend have a tattoo on her left shoulder?" he asked and she nodded. "Yeah, a rose", she answered almost afraid of the meaning.

"I think she was murdered. And there were others. He picks girls with no family, no one to care", Angel confessed and tears sprang to her eyes, she shook her head in denial. Then her eyes caught the paper with her name on it and quickly she pulled farther away from Angel.

"Why do you have that? You knew who I was!" she accused and pointed at the slip of paper. Angel quickly followed her gaze and shook his head, he tried to take a step closer to her but she jumped back.

"It's not what you think", he tried but she didn't seem to believe him. "Russell is paying you, isn't he, to play with my head", she accused him and started to retreat. "He's not paying me. Please let me explain", he tried desperately but she just shook her head and slowly made her way to towards the door.

"You're just like him. Stay away from me!" she yelled and sprinted up the stairs to the office area, quickly making her way towards the front door. Angel ran after her and stopped her at the door.

"Tina, please, listen to me", he tried but she yanked the door open and his hand caught on fire at the sunlight. He growled at the pain, knowing that his face had just vamped out and she quickly ran out the door, into the sunlight. He was about to follow but the smoke rising from him made him stop. Defeated he looked after her into the sunlight and slowly retreated back to the apartment.

Fifteen minutes later, he was still nursing his burns and sulking after what had happened when Buffy came back with the bag of groceries. She glanced around her, not seeing Tina and then her eyes landed on the brooding Angel and the nasty looking burn wounds. She put down the bag and hurriedly made her way to him.

"What happened?" she asked and started to check the hand, frowning at the looks of it. He tried to pull his hand away but she would have none of it and kept the hand firmly in hers.

"She saw the note and got scared", he finally answered, not looking at her. "And you tried to follow her, not remembering your little sunlight allergy", she finished for him.

"She saw my face", he confessed, hanging his head in shame. "Angel", she said softly and cupped his cheek, pulling him to look at her. "Don't be ashamed of what you are. I know some get scared when they see you on your vamp face but don't cower away from me. I love you no matter what and it doesn't gross me out, it never has."

"It still bothers me", he admitted, this time looking at her and she nodded in understanding. "I know. Should I go after Tina?" she changed the subject.

"I don't know where she lives. And I doubt she'll open her door for you", he said solemnly. "I can be very convincing." "I doubt violence will be the right answer to this one", he said with a small smile tucking at his lips, though it was nearly unnoticeable.

"Who said anything about violence? Are you suggesting that I use violence as an solution to everything?" she asked placing her hands on her hips, giving him a mock glare.

"Of course not, honey", he answered and she raised an eyebrow. "Well, that didn't sound very convincing", she said and broke into a smile. He gave her one of his half smiles and placed a quick kiss to her lips before getting up from the seat.

"I need to find out where she lives, she's still in danger", he said and slipped into the trap door in the floor. Buffy grabbed a stake and quickly went after him.

"Just because you're the one doing the redemption thing, doesn't mean I can't help", she said once she reached him in the sewers.

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It was already after dawn when Angel managed to dig up the information where Tina lived and he and Buffy made their way to the building. Already in the hallway he could smell the blood and fearing the worse, he ran into the apartment, there was no barrier on the door to stop him and he could see Tina laying on the floor. He walked to her and touched at the wound on her neck, she was already cold and the blood smeared into his fingertips. He jumped as he felt the gentle touch on his shoulder and he turned to look into the sad eyes of his lover.

"I'm sorry", she whispered and without answering, he turned to look at the woman on the floor. The smell of blood was making him crave for it and he couldn't stand it any longer, he jumped to his feet, Buffy's hand sliding off his back and he made his way out the apartment till he reached fresh air. He breathed in the air, trying to cover the scent of human blood that was lingering on his nose and making him want to sink his teeth into the next human that happened to be close by, and that was Buffy.

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After the coroner office picked up the body, Angel and Buffy made their way back to the apartment. As soon as he stepped in, he started backing the weapons. Buffy had made a call to Doyle, telling the short version what had happened and he was already waiting at the apartment when they arrived.

"You couldn't have known this would happen", Doyle tried but Angel didn't seem to be listening. "The guy trying to take Tina at the party, his name was Stacy. He's a hired muscle, probably done some time", Angel said not looking at Doyle while packing the bag, Buffy watched slightly concerned from the door.

"First or last name?" Doyle asked and Angel shrugged. "Don't know." "Okay, I'll ask around." Angel nodded and threw a phone book to the table.

"Start with the car. Grey -87 Black Mercedes 300E, going to need some serious work on the bumper. Call the chop shops." "I know few that ain't on the book too. But why look for the car?", Doyle commented and grabbed the book.

"The car will lead me to Stacy and Stacy will lead me to her killer", he answered shortly, his eyes darkening. "You couldn't have known..." Doyle started but Angel gave him a look to stop talking.

"I don't want to talk about it. I'm not gonna start sharing my feelings and I don't want to open up. All I want is to find Russell and look him in the eye", he said flatly. "And then what?" "I'm gonna share my feelings", Angel answered and threw the bag over his shoulder. He was about to make his way out the door but was stopped by Buffy grabbing a hold of his arm. He turned to look at her sharply, but he felt the anger fading as he looked into her sympathetic eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a whisper. "I will be as soon as I kill Russell", he answered and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She still didn't let him go.

"Let me help", she said, pleading with her eyes but he shook his head. "No, I need to do this. I know you want to help but it's a guy thing", he said and she nodded, understanding what he meant even though she didn't like it. As soon as he was gone, she grabbed her weapon bag and started towards the door.

"I thought you were going to let him do the guy thing?" Doyle said after her. "I am. But I really need to kill something right now", she answered without looking at him and left the apartment.

.

After throwing Stacy around and gaining the information on Russell, Angel returned to the apartment to get more supplies.

"Where's Buffy?" he asked Doyle who was sitting in the kitchen. "She went to kill something", he simply answered and watched as Angel packed another bag full of weapons.

"Well, have a nice vendetta, I'm going home to watch the game, I've got money on it", he said and got up from the table. "No you're not. You're driving", Angel said, making Doyle stop.

"Not gonna happen, buddy. I'm just the messenger", Doyle denied shaking his head but Angel threw his car keys at him and stated: "And I'm the message."

Doyle ended up driving Angel to the mansion and Angel told him to leave if he wasn't out in ten minutes, then he sneaked inside the walls. As Doyle watched him go, he couldn't help but think that if he didn't return, a certain slayer was going to make him an eunuch. Angel set an explosion with a timer on the fuse box and made his way inside the house, right into the second floor. He could hear Cordelia's voice and he stepped out of the darkness, Russell let go of Cordelia as he looked at the stranger.

"Russell Winters. I have a message for you from Tina", he said darkly. "You made a mistake coming here", Russell threatened and Cordelia's face brightened.

"You don't know who he is. Boy, you're going to get your ass kicked", she said and stepped back as Angel drew out a stake and attacked Russell. They traded punches, almost even in strength. The fight wasn't long but it was fierce, Russell managed to punch Angel to the ground and he saw the guards rushing up the stairs, he grabbed the end of the carpet and pulled it from under Russells legs, making him fall to the ground.

"Kill them!" Russell ordered and the guards started shooting. Angel jumped in front of Cordelia, taking the bullets shot her way and he lifted her into his arms before jumping down the balcony to the main hall, making Cordelia scream in the process. He let go of Cordelia and they made a run to the car. As soon as everyone were in it, Doyle sped back to the apartment.

As soon as he opened the door, keeping Angel upright with his other hand, Buffy ran to the door, taking Angel from him, letting him lean on her. "What happened?" she asked with a tinge of anger in her voice as she helped Angel to the couch.

"He got shot", Cordelia answered and for the first time Buffy noticed her, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "Cordelia?" she stated but didn't wait for any explanation, she quickly went through few boxes before returning with a small box that contained all the medical stuff. She ran her hand through his hair soothingly and helped him take off the shirt full of bullet holes. She wiped the blood off and pulled out the tweezers.

"I'm sorry", she whispered to him and started dig the bullets out. "Doyle, you wouldn't happen to have some whiskey stashed away?" she asked not taking her eyes off the task at hand. "Sorry, hon, but no." Once the bullets were out from his chest, she put gauze bandages on them.

"Turn to your side", Buffy said gently and slowly he shifted to his side, grimacing at the pain that shot through him at the movement. Trying to be as gentle as possible, she pulled out the bullets before covering the wounds with gauze bandages. She pressed a gentle kiss to his shoulder before easing him back to his back, minding of his wounds.

"Thank God it's over, I thought I was going to faint while barfing", Cordelia said rolling her head around and making Buffy roll her eyes, she hadn't changed much.

"It's over, right? That Russell guy isn't going to come after me since Angel beat him up and all, right?" she continued but nobody answered. Buffy grabbed a clean shirt and helped Angel to put it on.

"Willow says hi", she told him, changing the subject. "How is everyone?" he asked liking the distraction.

"Everyone's fine. Hellmouth's been quiet, mom is pressuring me to visit soon and Xander is moping."

"He's still having a thing for you", Cordelia stated, it wasn't a question and it made a small growl appear deep in Angels chest. Buffy slapped him, minding of his wounds and she turned to Cordelia. "Xander doesn't have a thing for me. Besides, he's dating Anya, the ex-demon that made you wish."

"He has a thing for you", Cordelia insisted till she realized what else she had said. "He's dating Anya!" she shrieked, making Angel grimace as the sound was like nails on a chalkboard to his sensitive hearing. "Yeah", Buffy said distractedly, turning back to Angel.

"I'm gonna run you a bath", she said and got up from the couch, making her way to the bathroom. Cordelia looked after her and then turned Angel, raising an eyebrow.

"So you and Buffy... I figured you would have moved on by now", she stated and Angel send a half glare at her way. "Not going to happen", he stated flatly but she didn't seem to notice the tone.

"Isn't this playing with fire, one time you get all groiny and hello murderous psycho and goodbye my inevitable stardom." "There's no danger, my soul is bound", he answered and Cordelia couldn't look more surprised.

"That couldn't have happened before you made the end of my school year living hell?!" she asked loudly and Angel had to resist rolling his eyes.

.

Angel walked into the conference room and walked towards Russell, but he was stopped by a lawyer standing in his way.

"I'm with Wolfram & Hart. Mr. Winters has never been accused and shall never be convicted of any crime, ever. Should you continue to harass our client, we will be forced to bring you into the light of day...", the man said passing his business card to Angel but he walked past him, tuning him out as soon as he reached Russell.

"Angel. We do things a certain way here in LA", Russell said, not seeming concerned. "Well, I'm new here", was Angels answer.

"But you're a civilized man. We don't have to go around attacking each other. Look at me, I pay my taxes, I keep my name out of the paper and I don't make waves. And in return I can do anything I want", Russell kept talking. Angel watched him sharply, playing with the business card in his hand, before placing his foot on his chair and leaning in, staring at him intently.

"Really? Can you fly?" he asked and kicked the chair, making it glide through the windows behind him. He could hear Russell scream and when the screaming stopped, he started walking away, placing the business card back to the lawyers jackets front pocket. "Guess not."

.

Angel laid in bed with Buffy in his arms, her fingers were making mindless patterns on his arm. "You don't seem to be feeling any better", she stated, turning to look at him.

"I killed a vampire, didn't help anyone", he stated and got a small slap in the chest in return. "Of course you helped, just think how many girls you saved, it's not like Cordy was going to be the last victim", she said to him, leaving no room for argument.

"I second that. And there's a girl upstairs that is ecstatic", Doyle said from the door, making the couple jump. Before anyone could say any more, there was a loud scream upstairs and the three sprinted into run. As they arrived to the room, they saw Cordelia waving a duster in her hand.

"Look over there! A cockroach! In the corner, I think it's a bantam weight!" she kept yelling and the others looked at her not understanding what was going on.

"Okay, first thing. We need to call an exterminator and a sign painter. We should have a name on the door", Cordelia kept talking.

"Okay. I'm confused", Angel said and Buffy lifted her hand like answering in class. "That makes two of us", she added.

"Doyle filled me in on your little mission. So I was just saying if we're going to help people, maybe a small charge. You know, something to help pay the rent and my salary. You need somebody to organize things and you're not exactly rolling in it Mr. I-was-alive-for-200-years-and-never-developed-an-investment-portfolio."

"You want to charge people?" Angel and Buffy said at the same time, even though Buffy wasn't all that surprised.

"Well not everybody. But sooner or later we are going to have to help some rich people, right? Right?" Cordelia said hopefully raising her eyebrows nearly to her hairline. "Possibly, yeah", Doyle commented.

"Hand me that box. So I think that we should charge based on a case by case analysis, but with me working for a flat fee. I mean, um…that is if you think that you can use me? I mean look at this place, our little slayer may know how to dust vamps but she's not Martha Stewart" she asked suddenly turning slightly uncertain but soon gaining back her usual confidence. Angel looked at Buffy, he couldn't make the decision on his own since it was her home too, she gave him a slight shrug and Angel took it as a okay, handing the box to Cordelia.

"Of course this is just temporary, until my inevitable stardom takes affect", Cordelia said and took the box from him before making her way to other room. Angel turned to look at Buffy in question while Doyle drooled after Cordelia. Buffy just shrugged and explained:

"Despite the fact that Cordelia isn't my favorite person, I think she needs this, I doubt she's making big bucks on acting, since I've actually seen her on stage." She mentally shuddered at the memory. Angel smiled and pulled her into a kiss.

"You're a good person, you know", he said smiling and gave her another quick kiss. "It's not like I have to live with her 24/7. And I have to visit Sunnydale on regular basis so I think I can deal", she said and turned to look at Doyle with amusement.

"And Doyle seems to be all for it. You have a little drool on the side", she said signing to the side of Doyle lips and giggle as he started wiping his lips.

"Okay, I think I was interrupted from spending a quiet afternoon with my girlfriend, how 'bout we go and continue?" Angel suggested whispering to her ear and earned a wide, bright smile from her. "No arguments", she said and pulled him downstairs. Doyle looked at the closed apartment door and Cordelia came to stand next to him.

"Are they always like that?" she asked sighing dramatically. "Pretty much", Doyle answered glancing at the brunette up and down.

"It's gonna be worse than in Sunnydale!" she sighed rolling her eyes as she heard the giggles coming from the apartment.

.

To be continued...

A/N: I'm writing this (which is a sequel to Different turn in life) at the same time as my sequel to In full body and mind, hopefully it won't get confusing. Please, review (good or bad), they keep my muse happy.


	2. To live and to date in LA

A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews, I was truly surprised by how many there were. Hope you like this chapter. And to Princesakarlita411, I don't know yet how the Buffy/Cordelia relationship is going to go since I have annoying habbit of creating the story at the same time as I write it, I usually have some ideas into the future but mostly it just comes while I'm writing. But I'm guessing/hoping that they become at least somewhat friends (at least what they were while Cordy and Xander were dating) but I'm not making any promises.

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Chapter 2: To live and to date in LA

Buffy and Angel had done a quick patrol and now they were content in being snuggled together in the office chair, Buffy curled into his lap while he was reading by the table light.

"You know, this is one of the last quiet evening we will be spending like this", she said in a hushed tone and he turned to look at her. "Yeah, you're starting school next week. Nervous?" he answered and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Not really", she said and then turned to look at him in the eyes. "Should I be?" He couldn't help but laugh at her tone and he leaned in to kiss her lips.

"Nope, you're going to charm everyone", he assured her with a small smile and one rose to her lips also. But the moment was interrupted. They blinked as a bright light lit the room and Doyle walked into the office. Buffy gave him a evil glare but he didn't seem to mind.

"Come on you people, you can't just be stuck inside all nights, Angel, you're supposed to be out there connecting and all you are connecting is the girl in your lap", he said and Angel also gave him a glare.

"Besides, we could go out and raise a toast for the new business, the four of us", he said and gave a high whistle, gesturing to the other room. Buffy rolled her eyes and got up from Angels lap, allowing him to stand up.

"You can count me out, if you want to ask Cordelia out, you'll have to do it yourself", he said. "I don't even know if she likes me, you could put in a good word for me", Doyle said raising his eyebrows.

"But I barely even know you." "Even better, makes it lot easier", Doyle answered happily.

"Just ask her, weirder things have happened. And she did date Xander, so you have a tiny chance", Buffy said everyone turned to look at the door as Cordelia burst through looking very excited.

"They're in!" she yelped happily but she seemed to be the only one who knew what she was talking about. "They're in", Doyle added pretending to know what she meant.

"The cards!" Cordelia explained, her excitement not wavering. "What cards?" Buffy asked as she noticed that either one of the men wasn't going to.

"The calling cards. Every respectable firm has to have them, we can hand them out and people will know how to reach us and we'll get money for my salary", she explained and Buffy just had to roll her eyes, she reminded her of Anya, or was it that Anya reminded her of Cordelia. Cordelia handed one card to Angel and Buffy stepped next to him to see what it was like.

"Hey, look at that, there is our number. It's right next to a… a um... a... a butterfly?" Angel said looking at the drawing on the corner of the card. Doyle looked at Cordelia's face, noticing the scowl and then he looked at the cards she was holding.

"It's obviously not a butterfly, you idiot", he scoffed. It's a.. a bird", he added, still seeing the scowl.

"Maybe it's one of those ink spots that psychiatrists use", Buffy added helpfully with a amused smile. "Or a bat", she added.

"No, no, wait, it's an owl. A... a bird that hunts at night. Brilliant! It's…", Doyle continued but was interrupted by Cordelia who was tired of the wrong guess'.

"It's an angel!" she sighed annoyed. "An angel. Right, it's an angel!" Angel said somewhat awkwardly and Buffy had to suppress a giggle.

"It's a could thing you're an actress and not a artist, although it could go as abstract, I've seen some things like this one at my moms gallery and they sell with big bucks. Maybe you should consider a career change", Buffy smirked at Cordelia but she ignored her. But Doyle wasn't through with the original subject.

"Brilliant. So obvious and so clever on so many levels…", he tried but Cordelia was loosing her patience and she slapped him playfully in the chest. "Shut up", she ordered but got slightly alarmed when he doubled over in pain.

"Oh come on, don't be such a baby. I barely touched you." Doyle moaned in pain and kicked at the desk before falling back hard. The others quickly going to him.

"Doyle! You okay?" Angel asked and Doyle nodded his head. "A bar. I think I recognize it, it's one of those 'terminally stuck in the eighties places'", he explained what he saw.

"Yeah, and?" Angel encouraged him to continue. "That's it. No faces popped out at me, man. Just, just a feelin'." "What feeling?" Cordelia asked, sure she wasn't going to like it.

"That something's gonna happen", he answered. "So much for that quiet evening", Buffy sighed.

"Looks like you got your wish. Looks like we're going out after all", Angel said to Doyle and the group got up from the floor, Buffy and Angel helping Doyle to stand up since he was still feeling a little woozy from the vision.

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Angel, Buffy, Cordelia and Doyle went to the club, that turned out to be called D'oblique.

"Shouldn't our college girl be at home practicing sleeping so she can be up bright and early when she starts school next week", Cordelia asked as they were going down the stairs, her voice lacked the usual hostility Buffy had used to so she didn't get too defensive.

"No she doesn't, you know how inconsiderate the vamps are when they keep me working night hours", Buffy said back.

"How are you going to survive college?"Cordelia asked, clearly not believing in her, her voice held the usual sting but it lacked the venom. "Same way I survived high school."

"Blow it up at the end of the school year?" Cordelia offered. "Funny", Buffy answered dryly.

"Girls", Angel chastised at the banter but only received an annoyed look from Cordelia. "We're talking here", she said like she was talking to a three year old.

"Okay, let's spread out, look for someone who might be in trouble", Angel said and Doyle added: "Or someone causing trouble." Cordelia handed the others some calling cards and headed to the tables, Doyle following her.

"I'm gonna go talk to the bartender", Angel told Buffy and headed to the bar.

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Some time later, after asking lot of people and not getting anything but a bunch of corny pickup lines, Buffy headed to the bar where Angel stood.

"Really, I wasn't hitting on you", he desperately tried explain to a man and Buffy couldn't help but giggle. "Should I be jealous?" she asked cheekily and Angel gave her a chastising look.

"Any luck?" he asked her, trying to ignore the silly grin she was still holding because of the little misunderstanding. "I'm thinking about as much as you had", she answered and he shot her a look but it did nothing to hold her back.

"Okay, I'm gonna go call Giles and ask what's going back there. Don't hit on any more guys while I'm gone", she said with a smirk and went to the dark corner where the phones were. Angel sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose, all he could hope was that she wouldn't tell Cordelia, well to his luck that seemed unlikely.

"You okay?" he heard a womans voice and he turned to see a blond woman nursing a drink. "What?" he asked slightly confused.

"No, no, nothing. - Sorry", the woman dismissed it and tried to turn back to her drink embarrassed. "No. Am I okay?"

"Well you just look... bad... Not that you look bad, you look very nice… I think I'm just going to have my drink", she explained awkwardly. "Thanks."

"For thinking you look bad, or thinking you look good?" "You choose. I'm Angel", he introduced himself and offered her his hand. "I'm Kate", she said back.

They kept talking, Angel awkwardly telling his occupation was veterinarian when she asked, not his brightest moment, he knew but it was only thing he could come up with at the moment. But their conversation was interrupted when a fight started and he could see Doyle and Cordelia were in the middle of it.

The other guy fighting against Doyle, raised a chair into the air, ready to strike but Angel grabbed it and used it as a shield as the guy turned around and tried to punch him. He used the chair to hit the guy and then threw him against the wall with it. They kept fighting as Buffy came from the telephones, immediately noticing the fight.

"All I wanted was a quiet evening at home with my boyfriend", she said with a sigh, looking at the ceiling before joining the fight. She grabbed a firm hold of the blond guys wrist as he was going to hit Angel from behind and with a quick pull, she threw him against the nearest wall. Seeing her, Angel stepped back and whispered to her ear:

"Go easy on them, they're human." Then he punched the other guy while the blond one tried to join back into the fight. But Angel grabbed them by their shirts and thew them to the floor in one pile, before they could get up, the bartender stepped in between them.

"Those two jerks started it!" Cordelia defended pointing at the men. They were about to protest but the bartender didn't give them a chance. "Not a word, you two are always starting trouble. Out, now", he ordered and grudgingly the two men limped off.

"Are you okay?" a young woman asked, concern showing in her voice. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks..." Doyle started but the woman didn't pay any attention to him, just flew by him to Angels arms. Angel was looking like a deer caught in headlights while Buffy couldn't help the jealousy from bubbling and Cordelia was sure the girl clinging to Angel was going to limp away if she did that any longer.

"Umm... Fine", Angel stammered taken back by the woman and he glanced at Buffy who was wearing an expression he himself had many times been wearing because of her. Mindfully he tried to untangle the womans limps from himself but she wasn't cooperating.

"Could you please stop clinging to my boyfriend", Buffy said tightly and stepped forward, her arms crossed in front of her chest and to him, her appearance screamed slayer. "Oh, sorry", the woman said not showing any regret. What she thought was unnoticeable, she slipped a piece of paper into Angels hand and mouthed 'call me' as she backed away.

Angel glanced at the piece of paper folded in his hand and turned to look at Buffy, who didn't look happy, her arms were folded in front of her and a fine eyebrow was lifted in question. Angel just shrugged his shoulders innocently and placed paper on the nearest table before making his way to her.

"Buffy", he started leaning closer to her and wrapping his arms around her. "Yeah, I know. Some women get all swooney with the testosterone display", she said with the jealousy showing in her voice but there was also the understanding.

"Now that the Buffy/Angel show is over, can we get a table?" Cordelia's voice interrupted the moment.

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The group was sitting on a table in the nearly empty bar, it was nearly closing time. Buffy was sitting almost in Angels lap in the small round table and Doyle was nursing his bleeding wound with a piece of paper towel.

"You know, I'm having a hard time believing that Doyle's vision meant I was supposed to come here to break up a bar fight", Angel stated, trying to keep his head clear as Buffy was playing with his fingers, not even noticing that she was doing it.

"Yeah, well, if it was, I'm in for some serious workman's comp", Doyle added. "Alright, lets think about it. Could any one of you sense that anyone here tonight need help?" Angel asked, feeling slightly frustrated. "Yeah, everybody", Cordelia stated and everyone turned to look at her.

"This socializing thing is brutal. I mean, I was young once", Angel started and others gave him a cheeky smile. "...I used to go to bars. It wasn't anything like this", he finished.

"Yeah, you were the scoundrel that broke all the girls hearts, weren't you", Buffy whispered to his ear without anyone else hearing it. Angel just gave her a broody look, it was all too true, he didn't like remembering that time of his life, well, back then he had a life. Seeing the look in his face, Buffy pressed a comforting kiss to his forehead.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of the things you want to forget. But it's all in the past, brooding isn't going to help", she whispered to him and pressed a soft kiss next to his ear before they turned back to the conversation, to listen what Doyle was saying. "I used to go to taverns. Small towns, where everybody used to know each other."

"Yeah, like High school. It was easy to date there. At least to some of us", Cordelia said and glanced pointedly at the couple who had had it rough, before she continued. "We all had so much in common. Being monster food every other week for instance", she added lightly.

"Well, you're in the big, bad city now, huh? Where everyone's a stranger, hiding behind walls, keeping secrets." "Well, we all have our secrets", Buffy answered to him and everyone shared a look.

"I'm sorry folks, but I have to kick you out", the bartender said and the group nodded in understanding before making their way to the door.

"We need to start researching, newspapers, the net, anything that might be useful. There has to be some cases linked to this place", Angel said as they made their way out. "Like missing girls?" Buffy suggested and Angel nodded.

"Why does everything have to be so creepy with you two. Missing girls, giant snakes trying to eat the whole school. Some positive thinking wouldn't hurt you guys", Cordelia sighed but didn't receive an answer.

.

"This is useless", Doyle sighed and threw a newspaper to the table before turning to watch Cordelia who was working on the computer. "Okay, I've got to the news group search engine. What was the clubs name?" she asked and turned to Angel who had come to stand behind her.

"D'oblique, capital D, apostrophe, o-b-l-i…", he started spelling but Cordelia threw her hands in the air waving them furiously. "Slower!" she commanded and pressed the D on the keyboard before her fingers started to hover over the letters.

"Apostrophe... apostrophe...", she mumbled as she searched it and then gave a triumphant smile as she found it. Doyle got up from the chair and squeezed in next to her.

"I need a break from all that readin', lemme help ya", he said and swiftly wrote the clubs name before pressing enter. "Where did you learn to use a computer?" Angel asked suspiciously.

"Downloading pictures of naked women?" Cordelia offered and Doyle gave them a smirk. "More or less", was his answer and he signed to the screen. "Two hits", he clarified and Buffy too came to look what the information was.

"Heather Nolan. Missing since late last month the 24-year-old paralegal that vanished after leaving a downtown bar called D'oblique", Angel read. "Sounds like we found our connection", Buffy sighed as she kept reading it by herself. Doyle turned the page and Angel started reading it out loud:

"Badly mutilated body found in the dumpster nearly three weeks ago, described by the coroner's office as eviscerated, has been positively identified as that of 28-year-old Martin Haber, last seen with an unidentified female companion at D'oblique, a trendy singles establishment." He turned to the others and continued:

"That's it then. Probably a lot more disappearances that the press hasn't traced back to the bar yet. Go downstairs and use the library, try to narrow down a list of eviscerating demons, ones that might have reasons to prey on young singles." He turned to leave but was stopped by Cordelia asking:

"Where are you going?" "To the bar. To see if I can meet a killer." Buffy straightened up and grabbed her jacket. "I'm coming with you", she said but gave him a questioning look as he shook his head.

"Don't, it will be less suspicious if I go alone", he said but she didn't seem satisfied with the answer. "Angel, it's dangerous, this thing doesn't seem to be playing around", she said but he wasn't wavering.

"Buffy, I can take care of myself and I have a better chance in finding it if I'm alone. Please." Buffy sighed deeply and nodded. "Fine", she muttered with a pout and Angel gave him a soft smile before pressing a quick kiss to her lips.

"I'll see you later", he said and left, Buffy looked after him, not looking very happy. She grabbed a dagger from a box, hiding it into her boot and left the apartment.

"Where do you think she went?" Doyle asked Cordelia who just shrugged. "Probably to kill something, she is the slay girl after all", she said not caring too much about the topic.

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Angel went back to the bar and found the possible, demon, only she had already left with the next victim. Once he found out the name, he went to the phone book, finding the address and sprinted into run to the apartment.

When he got there, to his surprise he got in but then it dawned to him, the owner of the apartment was already dead. Grimly he made his way towards the bedroom, just in time to see a worm-like tail disappear into the mans back as he was pulling a shirt back on, he could see the womans body in the bed. The man turned around and glanced at Angel before stating:

"You're not human." "News flash, pal, you're a bit of the evolutionary chart yourself." They both glanced at the body on the bed.

"This has to stop. You have to stop", Angel stated. "I will, when I find the right one. The one I can stay with", the man answered.

"The right body? What's wrong with this one?" Angel questioned and the man looked at himself. "Nothing... yet. It's new and different. It's great… But it won't last. I already know it's not the I can live in", he answered and Angels face darkened.

"Well, then it'll have to be the one you die in", he answered darkly and the demon attacked him. They traded punches evenly till the man managed to strike Angel in to the back and drop him to the ground. He grabbed him by the jacket and send him sliding through the floor against the wall. Angel was dazed for few seconds before he got up growling, his vamp face surfacing. He attacked the demon and again they fought evenly, trading kicks and punches. The demon backed Angel against a wall, pinning him down but he managed to punch the man and grabbing his neck, he slammed him against the wall. But unfazed the demon turned around, grabbing Angel by his jacket before throwing him against the wall and then through a glass cabinet, finally sending him flying across the room. When Angel got up, the demon was gone and Kate ran through the door.

"Kate?" Angel stated in surprise. Their eyes drifted to the body on the bed and Angel shook his head. "It's not what it looks like", he tried but Kate didn't seem to believe it.

"I know it's exactly what it looks like. LAPD, you're under arrest", she said back, pulling out a gun, pointing it towards Angel and showing her police badge with her free hand. "Kate, listen...", he tried and took a step forward.

"Don't move! Not a step. Back-up is on the way here", Kate interrupted him. "We're on the same side. I'm after this guy too", Angel tried tell her but she looked at him incredulously.

"You're telling me you're an investigator?" she scoffed and Angel cave a slight nod. "More or less."

"Where is your license?" she questioned, not looking like she believed him. "That's the less part", he answered. "Kate you don't know, you didn't see…", he tried to reason with her but again she interrupted him.

"What I see is the carving job of an impotent sicko. It's frustrating, isn't it, not being able to connect, to love like other people? I mean, how do you get them to trust you, Angel? Give them the big dark eyes, the 'I'm not good with talk' speech?"

"He gives them what they are longing for", Angel answered ignoring her taunt. "And that is?" "Hope. That the loneliness is going to end, and he is going to do it again."

"Unless I let you go so you can stop him. Save me the lines, I've heard all of them", she said sarcastically. "And I've heard yours. Something about not being able to trust people?" Angel said back and she didn't seem to take it well. She took out the handcuffs.

"Turn around", she ordered and once Angel did that with a sigh, she pushed him against the wall and snapped the cuff on his other wrist.

"I'm sorry", Angel apologized. "Is that a confession?" "I didn't do that. I'm sorry for this!" Angel answered and kicked Kate down to the floor before running across the room and jumping out the window. Kate shot after him but he managed to jump out before being shot and he landed on a car, effortlessly he slid from the hood to the ground and sprinted into run.

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Angel made his way to Cordelia's apartment and knocked to the door. "Who is it?" came Cordelia's voice from the other side. "It's me", he answered and the door opened, revealing Cordelia and Doyle.

"Oh, my God. Are you okay?" Cordelia asked somewhat worried. "I... I can't, um…" Angel tried to explain Cordelia but Doyle did it for him.

"Invite him in! As long as you're alive, vampires, they can't cross the threshold unless you…" "Oh, right. You promise you'll stay good?" Cordelia asked raising her brows but only received a her name in a form of a sigh.

"I'm kidding, get a sense of humor. Come in", she said and Angel stepped through the door.

"Where's Buffy?" he asked as he didn't see or sense her anywhere. "She went out to beat up things", Cordelia answered flippantly.

"What happened to you, man? You look like someone used you as a bunching bag" Doyle asked. "That's not far from the truth. That woman that I was talking to at the bar last night.. Kate?" Angel started explaining but was interrupted by Cordelia. "She's the killer?"

"She's a cop. Followed me to another body", Angel finished what he was saying. "And now she thinks you're the killer", Doyle guessed and Angel nodded.

"We don't have a lot of time to…", he started saying but then got a better look on the apartment and a grin rose to his lips. "You actually live here?" he asked Cordelia. "Yes! Is it my fault that maid service was interrupted? It was supposed to go, home, hotel, hotel, husband. Now can we go back to the original subject?"

"I saw the demon, it's a burrower", Angel stated and Cordelia looked at him in surprise. "It's a donkey? We didn't see any donkey demons on the books", she said slightly confused and the men looked at her in question.

"Burrower", Angel clarified more slowly and the realization hit her. "It eviscerates its victims as it moves from body to body, and it may only be able to do it after some kind of a sex act, exchange of fluids kind of thing", Angel explained. "Eww!" Cordelia stated scrunching her nose while Doyle grinned 'Lovely'.

"Look I want you to find out anything you can about this thing, weaknesses especially. It was amazingly strong while we were fighting, it may be hard to kill", Angel went back to the original topic. "We're on it", Doyle promised and Angel started towards the door but stopped and turned around to look at the others.

"Buffy doesn't need to know about this, that I'm the suspect, you can't tell her", Angel said to the others and Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"Like we share everything, sitting on the bed doing facials and gossiping about the creature of the night boyfriend she has", Cordelia scoffed but Angel seemed satisfied with the answer and started walking to the door again.

"Where you going?" she asked. "I'm going to check out the bars, see if I can find it before it changes the body", he answered. "But doesn't it know you're looking for it?" Cordelia asked confused. "Yeah, but it is out there, it needs to find another body", he said and stepped out the door.

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Buffy sighed wearily as she walked through the offices and down to the apartment. But as soon as she opened the door, she could hear footsteps, she couldn't sense Angel and she knew it wasn't Cordelia or Doyle either.

Soundlessly she crept down the stairs and blend into the shadows as she saw a dark figure move inside the apartment. She saw a flash of the gun and that told her it wasn't a demon, at least it wasn't likely. She sneaked farther into the room, keeping out of sight and moving soundlessly and when the figure stepped around the corner, she kicked the gun out of its hands and grabbed it by the jacket and throwing it to the ground, keeping it down with her foot. She squinted in the darkness and she could recognize it was a blond woman, quickly she remembered seeing her in the bar.

"Who are you?" the woman asked with authority voice and Buffy cocked an eyebrow. "You broke in to my home, so I am the one asking the questions. Who are you?" Buffy shot back and the woman didn't seem pleased.

"I am a cop, Kate Lockley, LAPD", Kate answered and slowly pulled out her badge. Buffy looked at it long and carefully before lifting her foot off her chest and letting her get up. When Kate reached for the gun on the floor, Buffy stepped on it and kicked it behind her.

"I don't like guns, especially when they're in my home and with a person I don't know. I don't care if you're a cop but you're still in my apartment in the middle of the night and I don't know what you're after", Buffy said sternly, very much the leader she had used to be. Kate looked at the girl in front of her with scrutiny, she looked very young but she didn't sound like it.

"I'm searching for a fugitive that is wanted for murder. He fled the murder scene while being under arrest and according to my information, he works and lives in this building", Kate answered and kept a close eye on Buffy's reaction but got nothing but her poker face even though inside she was surprised and at the same time ready to hunt down Angel.

"Where's your search warrant?" Buffy asked giving the woman in front of her the same scrutiny as she was giving her. Kate was surprised by the question, then again, she wasn't expecting to get caught.

"I don't have one", she answered, giving Buffy a glare but she ignored it.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it a bit illegal to search an apartment without a search warrant? Well, I don't care, I want you out of here, before I call the cops and ask them if what you were doing is illegal", Buffy said to Kate and picked up the gun from the floor. She wanted to squeeze the barrel into useless piece of metal but she resisted and instead, she took the bullet chamber out and handed the pieces to Kate. Kate kept glaring at her but none the less, made her way to the door, she had already managed to search the apartment without finding anything incriminating. At the door she stopped and stated:

"We'll be in touch." Then she stepped out, she wanted to know who that girl was and what she knew about the murders, she was after all living with the serial killer and disarmed her in seconds, there had to be something fishy about that.

Buffy looked at the closed door and sighed deeply before falling to the couch. She was tired but she couldn't sleep, she needed to talk to Angel.

.

Angel went back to Cordelia's apartment and got the briefing on the demon from her and Doyle. He made a call to Kate and arranged a meeting with her at the bar the same night. As soon as he had hung up, there was a knock on the door. Cordelia made her way to it and asked through it who was there.

"It's me", came Buffy's voice from the other side and Cordelia opened the door, letting Buffy step inside. Buffy glanced around her, her expression amused but she didn't say anything, though that didn't stop Cordelia from glaring at her.

"Go on, say it, it's a dump, Cordelia Chase is living in a dump!" she said to her waving her hands around erratically. "I was going to say messy, it could be worse", Buffy answered, her smile not faltering till she reached Angel and gave him a look like a mother telling little boy he had been naughty.

"Somebody's in trouble", Doyle singsonged and earned a glare from Buffy and Angel.

"I beat up a very informative vamp last night, said something about a body jumping demon but I guess you already knew that since you've met it personally", she said and folded her arms in front of herself.

"How did you know?" Angel asked guiltily and Buffy decided she wasn't going to torture him any longer. "Met your cop friend, she's looking for you for murder, several actually", she answered and raised an eyebrow at him, asking for explanation.

"She caught me in the apartment of one of the victims", he explained and she nodded. "Yeah, I got that part from her. I'm guessing you know how to kill this demon?" she let him off the hook.

"Fire", was his simple answer and Buffy's eyes widened. "Fire, vampire, bad! Do I have to draw it to you?" she said alarmed and he smiled tentatively, leaning closer to her.

"It's okay, I have a plan that doesn't include me being in fire", he assured her and pressed a slow kiss to her lips.

"Hey! No necking in my apartment, you do that enough at the office!" Cordelia commanded and they stepped apart.

"What's the plan?" Buffy went back to the conversation, licking her lips as she watched him. "I'm gonna meet up with Kate and we'll share information, she's been on this case lot longer than we have", he answered and Buffy shook her head furiously.

"Bad plan, that plan is going to land you into a nice warm, sunny cell", she said to him but Angel just chuckled. "No it's not. Trust me. Do you trust me?" She glared at him, not liking the question.

"You know I do", she said like a pouting little girl and then her face softened. "With my life", she whispered. "Then trust me on this one", he said back and as she nodded, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Cordelia rolled her eyes as Doyle was captivated by the free show.

"The Buffy and Angel show, what did I tell you", she sighed to Doyle and then turned to the couple that was still in lip-lock not paying any attention to their surroundings. As they just kept kissing, Cordelia finally jumped to her feet from the couch.

"Hey, what did I tell you two, no necking in my apartment, go to your own before I get seriously traumatized! Who's gonna pay for the therapy? Huh?"

.

Angel watched in the darkness as the bartender lead Kate into the back room. As soon as they were inside, he followed them, just in time to see the bartender try to transfer the demon into Kate. Angel grabbed a piece of board and swung it at him, making the man fall to the ground and the parasite draw back to his chest. Angel kneeled next to Kate shaking her awake.

"Are you okay? Can you move?" he asked and when he saw the bartender attacking with a barrel, he yelled Kate to move and pulled her out of the way. He jumped up from the floor and hit the bartender hard in the stomach and gave another swing barely missing.

"I guess you're done with that body", he stated seeing a piece of skin hanging from the side of his head. The bartender managed to punch him in the back and threw him against the fence.

"You don't get to finish you just come apart at the seams", Angel said and headbutted the man, sending him staggering back. As the man tried to attack again, Angel grabbed a hold of the fence and jumped up, wrapping him legs around the bartenders neck before flipping him to the ground. The bartender grabbed Angel by his legs and slammed him against the hanging lamp in the ceiling before backing him against a wall, slamming him hard against it and the throwing him to the door. Angel managed to get a grip from the frames but the bartender, grabbed Kate and threw her against Angel, making them fall down the stairs.

"We can't let him get away", Kate said and tried to get up but in vain. "He's not going to leave. He's going to kill again, now", Angel said and got up to his feet. "You think so?" Kate questioned. "He has to", Angel stated and ran up the stairs, trying to break down the door but it didn't seem to move.

He came back down the stairs and helped Kate to her feet. He looked around himself and seeing the windows, he took out the grappling gun. "Who are you?" Kate questioned as she saw it. Angel lunged it up wards, the line wrapping around a beam and hooks digging into the log. He yanked at it and the beam came tumbling down. Kate glanced at Angel before pulling out the gun she had in her ankle and she shot at the doors lock. They run out the door and through the bar, trying to spot the bartender.

Outside they split, Angel heading where he knew the bartender had headed. Angel saw him dragging a girl to a dark alley and he ran faster, tackling him to the ground. "Run!" he yelled at the girl and that she did. Angel grabbed him and threw him against a large dumpster before throwing him against a window with bars. He grabbed the bars and kicked Angel to the other wall. They traded few punches till the man threw Angel across the alley, almost knocking down the flaming barrel. Angel jumped up to his feet but the bartender almost dipped him to the fire, he kicked him back to the alley and went after him.

They thew punches and kicks to each other, beating each other badly but Angel was the one in worse condition. The bartender kicked Angel in the stomach and threw him out of the alley. He lunged at him but Angel kicked him over the roaring fire, knocking down the barrel and the demon caught fire. Angel struggled to get off the ground as the demon neared him but suddenly several shots were fired and the demon fell down to the ground. Angel turned to look and saw Kate holding a gun, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

After it was all over, Kate and Angel talked, Kate confessing she had searched his place and they made promises of starting fresh. Angel offered her one of the cards and Kate's best guess for the drawing was lobster. But before any more questioning, he took off, anxious to get back home since it seemed like he hadn't been there in days.

.

Angel walked inside the apartment, it was dark and seemed empty but he could feel that someone was in there. He grabbed an axe from the wall and slowly made his way to the bedroom. He pulled the door open and quickly lowered his axe. Buffy giggled and glanced at the axe in his hand.

"I bet you had a rough night", she said nearly in a whisper and all he could do was nod. Again she let out a giggle and made her way to him.

"Where are the others?" he asked swallowing at the sight of her clad only in wine red colored robe. "I gave them the night off, they seemed pretty beat. Although not as much as you", she answered and took a hold of his hand, pulling him with her towards the bathroom.

"I made you a bath. And now we can have that quiet evening... night at home. Just lazy Angel/Buffy time", she said and they stepped into the bathroom that was softly lighted with a blue night light. Angel raised his eyebrow in question at her and she smirked.

"I considered scented candles but since you've been playing with fire enough, the night light will do. Come on, you have too many clothes on", she said and pulled the duster down his arms.

.

To be continued...

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A/N: Okay, I know the ending is bit hurried but it was nearly two am when I finished this chapter and I'm trying to stay in the rating which is T (at least at the time).


	3. Piece of me

**A/N:** Okay, I could kick myself for this slow update, I'm retreating into a corner in shame. Thank you, to all of you who have reviewed and for your patience for this chapter. I was having a bit of a trouble with it, my muse left for a vacation and I had a major writer's block, but hopefully it is over.

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Chapter 3: Piece of me

Buffy groaned as she packed her school bag but soon it changed into a satisfied hum as she felt strong arms circling her body and soft lips pressing a kiss to her neck, just above the mark. She turned in his arms and pulled him into a short but passionate kiss.

"I'm going up. Are you coming?" she asked but he shook his head. "I'll up in a minute", he promised and with another quick kiss, she made her way up the stairs and headed to the office as she heard the voices coming from there.

"...I'm not saying **I'M** attracted. I'm just saying he's projecting a certain kind of image and asking for money isn't part of it. He's sensitive about that", she heard Doyle saying as she stepped into the room.

"Morning", she said and the others turned to look at her. "Mornin' Buffy", Doyle answered giving her a smile, Cordelia just acknowledged her with a absent wave of her hand. Buffy headed to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup before lifting it to her lips and scrunching her nose at the smell. She took a small sip and made a face. She turned to Cordelia raising her eyebrows in question.

"What is this?" she asked and Cordelia just shrugged. "Last weeks coffee. Think of it as espresso", Cordelia answered and turned to the door when she saw Angel stepping out of the apartment door, Buffy used her moment of distraction to pour the coffee back to the pot. Cordelia turned to Doyle with determent look on her face.

"Okay, he's coming. We're going to stand up to him, be fierce and not give in", she said and Doyle nodded his agreement. "Yes, not giving an inch", he said and Buffy looked at the couple in question, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

"Morning, boss", Cordelia chirped and with a good morning, Angel headed to the coffee maker. "I wouldn't do that if I were you", Buffy warned before he could pour it into his cup.

"Sure been making us proud these last few weeks fighting the evil and all that", Doyle piped up. "Yeah, you've been fantastic! Saving people left and right…" Cordelia added.

"I'm not comfortable asking people for money", Angel interrupted them frowning.

"Then get over it!" Cordelia commanded but softened at the looks Angel and Buffy were giving her. "I mean that in a sensitive way. We have bills, electricity, phone..." she added but when Angel didn't show any signs of wavering, she turned to Buffy. "Help us out here, Buffy, talk to him."

"Sorry, Cordy. But I'm not all that comfortable with the asking for money thing either. You know, I'm the slayer, I'm not used to being rewarded from saving everyone", Buffy said with a apologetic shrug.

"Look, bud, I know it's not your favorite thing, but you've got to do what's right", Doyle said directing the conversation back to Angel. "You think it's right to ask people in trouble for money?"

"No", Doyle answered. "So we agree", Angel stated and seeing the annoyed look on Cordelia's face Doyle was quick to correct: "No." "We don't agree?"

"Make up your mind, will you?" Cordelia sniped and Doyle doubled over in pain. "Pen, paper", he said to Cordelia and then addressed to Angel: "Single malt scotch."

"What did you see?" Buffy asked as Angel poured the scotch into a coffee cup and handed it to Doyle. "Melissa Burns, works at Pardell paper products", Doyle answered and Cordelia started flipping through a phone book. "This isn't single malt", Doyle said looking at the cup and making a face. "This is poly malt", he stated but drank it anyway.

"Okay, Pardell paper products, 200 Wilshire boulevard", Cordelia said and Angel grabbed his coat. "I'll come with", Buffy stated but Angel gave her a knowing smile. "You are going to class", he stated and gave her a quick kiss before making his way to the door, pulling his long coat on. Doyle looked after him head slightly tilted to the side and stated: "Maybe I'm little attracted." Buffy turned to look at him with a strange look.

"What exactly were you two talking about before I came here?" she questioned with eyebrow raised and then shook her head. "Maybe it's better that I don't know. I'll see you guys later", she said and grabbed her bag, leaving the room.

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Buffy managed to get through the first classes and by the end of her psych class, she was convinced the professor was evil. She flung her bag over her shoulder and headed towards the door. She froze as she felt and arm grabbing her shoulder and she managed to resist the urge to throw, who ever it belonged to, over her shoulder. She turned around and saw three girls her age that she immediately recognized.

"It is you! Buffy!" the girl shouted loudly and Buffy couldn't help but feel uncomfortable after a lot of attention had been drawn to her. "Hey September", she answered somewhat awkwardly, she hadn't spoken to the girl, now a young woman, in many years, since she had been abandoned by her friends after she became the slayer.

"Wow, what it's been, four years since we last saw", September said with fake enthusiasm. "Give or take", was Buffy's answer.

"Wow, you actually graduated from high school. You remember Jo and Marissa?" September continued ignoring what Buffy said, not even trying to hide her small jab about high school. "Yeah, I remember. Hey", she answered giving a small wave to the others and they gave ones back.

"So you moved back from Sunnyville? It must have been a drag to live in there." "Sunnydale", Buffy corrected. "Yeah, I moved back here with my boyfriend", she added, feeling she needed to say something to her tormentor.

"Let me guess, high school sweethearts", September asked with a fake smile, everything about her seemed to be fake and the fact that her bust had grown three cup sizes told Buffy that she was as fake inside as outside. "Something like that", Buffy answered, it wasn't like she could just tell what it really had been.

"Yeah, well, you have to come with us to this club, we'll show you all the in places here, you've been away so long that you must be clueless what's the best places to go here", September said dismissively.

"I can't...", Buffy protested trying to sound like she was sorry about it but truthfully she'd rather face a pack of demons than September and her entourage on her turf. "You have to, I take no excuses. We've got class so see you at eight thirty in front of The Lodge, it's a club", September said and with a wave of a hand, she left the room, Jo and Marissa following dutifully. As soon as they were out of, what they though was, the hearing range, they burst into giggles. Buffy frowned and sighed deeply, this wasn't high school, so why was she feeling like she had stepped back there.

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Angel had tried to talk to Melissa with no results but he had managed to give her the business card. Now he was sitting with Cordelia and Doyle at the office.

"I think I scared her", Angel stated. "Sounds like she was already scared", Cordelia said and everyone turned to look as Buffy walk into the office giving a tired wave and sitting into a chair next to Cordelia.

"Do I look intimidating?" Angel asked and Buffy couldn't help but smile at the question. "The whole following girl into a dark alley did make me a little suspicious of you, also the cryptic act isn't helping", Buffy answered and gave him a comforting smile.

"Or the black on black look. But as far as vampires go, you're pretty cuddly", Cordelia added helpfully. "Maybe one of you could talk to her, make her feel safer", Angel suggested but Cordelia shook her head.

"Nope, I'm not getting involved before she hires us", she said. "Cordelia is right", Doyle said but this time it was Angel who shook his head. "I don't think so. I've got a bad feeling that we need get involved now. And this shouldn't be about money."

"It isn't", Doyle assured him. "Yeah, you should listen to.." Cordelia started and then realizing what he had said, turned to look at Doyle with a hard look. "It isn't?!" she questioned.

"No, it's about doing what's best for the people you've helped. People get attached to a mysterious savior, and can you blame them? But as long as you're just a man who's doing a job, and getting paid, they can feel like they've paid their debt to you and they can move on, independent like", he explained.

"You are a lot smarter than you look... Of course you look like a retard", Cordelia said to Doyle. No one had time to say anything as the phone rang and Cordelia went to answer it. "Angel Investigation. We help the hopeless... Well, I'd say right a way", Cordelia said to the phone and hung up, turning to look at th others. "She's coming in", she told them and Angel looked down at his black sweater.

"I've got to change my shirt", he stated and made his way down to the apartment, Buffy following few minutes later. She found him shirtless in the bedroom, going through the closet desperately trying to find something other than dark clothes. Buffy admired the view till he pulled out a ivory shirt and put it on. Angel turned around to look at Buffy with a smirk on his face.

"How was your day?" he asked, even though he wanted to say something else, they didn't have the time to go down that road. "Not all that bad. But I'm suspecting that professor Clift is evil, it's not like I can just go out there and ask 'you wouldn't happen to be evil by any chance cause on my luck, you are trying to build some Frankenstein monster made of demon bits and I'm going to fail this class", she said with a sigh and Angel gave a small chuckle, pulling her into his arms.

"I'm sure your professor isn't evil, just strict", he assured her but she didn't seem too convinced. "He gives me the wiggings. Maybe we should go back up, I'm sure your client will be here soon", she changed the subject and gave him a brief kiss before pulling him towards the stairs with her. They went to the office and it didn't take long for Melissa to arrive. Angel introduced everyone, then offered her a seat and Cordelia got her a cup of coffee.

"It's been going on for about 7 months now. It wasn't so bad a t first", Melissa told them somewhat uncomfortably. "What's his name?" Angel asked tentatively.

"Dr. Ronald Meltzer. He's a neurosurgeon, I had an infected nerve behind my right eye. He operated, saved my sight. Afterwards he asked me out. I didn't really want to, but..", Melissa answered and stopped, not knowing how to continue. "He helped you, you felt obligated", Cordelia assisted and at Melissa's nod, she added like it was obvious: "Plus, a doctor."

"So we had ONE drink, ONE time, and afterwards he started calling me, a lot. Then he started showing up at my work, my apartment, saying that we had something special, that we should get married." "And then it got worse?" Buffy said sympathetically.

"I know it sounds stupid, but I can feel him watching me. All the time. Today at work, he knew I took my Xanitab when I was alone in the bathroom. I mean, how did he see that? He is just everywhere. I don't think I can take much more of this", Melissa continued with a weary sigh.

"Well, we're going to help you", Angel assured her and send a slight glare at Cordelia as she added: "Big time, and for a reasonable fee."

"I have to ask this, but have you handled a lot of cases like this?" Melissa asked awkwardly. "Don't worry, our Buffy here has a lot of experience in psychopathic murderer stalkers", Cordelia answered and got glares from Buffy and Angel. "What!? No need to start brooding on me, I mean it in a good reassuring way", she said seeing the glares and the quickly falling look on Angel's face.

"What happened to him?" Melissa asked tentatively, not sure if Buffy wanted to share her experience with her. "He's in a cage..." Buffy answered then corrected: "In prison, no chance for parole."

"Doyle will make sure that you get home safely", Angel changed the subject, knowing how hard it was to remember Angelus, to him as it was to Buffy. "Thanks. You guy's have been very kind, listening to me", Melissa thanked while raising from her chair and taking a sip from the coffee cup.

"It's terrible", she added and placed the coffee cup to the table. "Yeah, we're going to take care of it", Doyle assured her but she shook her head. "No, I mean the coffee." She walked to the door but stopped walking, turning to look at Angel.

"Angel, how did you know that I needed help?" she asked but she didn't sound suspicious. "I have a friend in the police department", Angel answered and Buffy cast an unnoticed glance at him, knowing who that friend was. "I'll see you later", Doyle said from the door, pulling Buffy out of her jealous thoughts.

"Can you imagine? A doctor, they examine your body, they know every inch of you", Cordelia said what could have passed as thoughtfully and then she shuddered letting out a disgusted sound.

"How is he doing it? How does he see her when she's alone, in private? Is he invisible?" Angel thought out loud. "Or some kind of ghost?" Buffy assisted. "Maybe he can astral project?" Angel suggested, turning to look at Buffy.

"Maybe he has an accomplice, or a hidden camera. Not everything has to be creepy and supernatural, you know", Cordelia said to the couple. "Not everything, but Doyle had a vision", Angel reminded her.

"Which last time led to a 'sex changing body switching tear your innards out' demon, right. I guess they don't call you for their every day cases." "He sees her when he is nowhere around... How?" Angel continued his musings. "Okay, flesh, anytime you want to stop crawling is okay with me", Cordelia said to herself and walked out the office. Buffy looked as Cordelia walked out the door and then turned to Angel.

"You'll need me to help tonight, right?" she asked hoping that he would say yes. "Not really. Why?" he answered, lifting his gaze to her face, knowing from the sound of her voice that she had been hoping for a different answer.

"Just some people I used to know in high school asked me out to a club. Are you sure you don't need help?" she answered and practically pleaded him with her eyes. "I'm sure. I'm going to ask Kate if she knows anything about Melissa's situation. I think you should go out, have some fun and get to know your old friends again." Buffy grimaced.

"But I don't really want to, they weren't all that nice back when I was friends with them and what I gathered today, they haven't changed all that much." "Then why did you say you'd go?" Angel asked.

"Have you ever tried to say 'no' to September Collins-Winthrop? It is just as impossible as you getting a tan", she answered sarcastically without the sting. Angel gave her a small comforting smile and pulled her to sit on his lap, he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a lingering kiss.

"Maybe it won't be so bad. And if it is, just give me a call and I'll come and get you", he said and earned a small smile from Buffy. "I'm gonna hold you to it, my very own knight in a shining armor", she answered with a smirk and pulled him into another kiss.

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Angel walked into the police station and made his way towards the desk that Kate was working on. "Hello, Kate", he greeted and Kate lifted her gaze, seeing Angel, she got up and folded her arms in front of herself trying to not look nervous. "Angel. Um, hi. It's good to see you", she said and Angel nodded courtly. "You too."

"So judging by how uncomfortable you are, I'd say you either about to ask me out on a date, or you need a favor", she said hoping that it would be the first one. Angel looked at her awkwardly, twisting the Claddagh ring in his finger, Kate noticed the look on his face and saw the movement.

"And I'm going to go with favor", she stated, keeping the disappointment out of her voice, she had also noticed that the ring was in his left hand. "So ask, and I'll see if I can do", she said sitting down behind her desk and signed Angel to do the same.

"Girl, a client. She's being stalked, and I think it could get ugly" Angel started. "She's being stalked? Then it's already ugly. What's her name?" Kate answered. "Melissa Burns." Kate typed the name to her computer and waited for results. She got up from the chair and disappeared into another room, returning ten minutes later with a file.

"Your girl did file a report two months ago. The doctor responded and denied everything. His lawyers made a lot of noise", she said and sat down behind her desk. "What happened?" Angel asked.

"His lawyers. Wolfram and Hart. You know the name?" "I've heard of them", Angel answered shortly, remembering the day he had thrown Russell out of the window.

"Yeah. They're the law firm that Johnny Cochran is too ethical to join. They actually filed a restraining order against HER. Very cute. Still no record of violence for the doctor", Kate explained. "Yet", Angel said solemnly. "You think he's going to blow?" "Yes."

"I'll put a uniform on her building. But I can probably not spare one for more than a day or two", Kate promised. "Thanks. That'll help."

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The first half hour at the club was pure torture for Buffy and it only confirmed her suspicion that the group hadn't changed since high school, only trouble was that she couldn't get to the phone so Angel could come and rescue her.

"So how long have you and your hubby been together?" September asked, not really interested but she needed something she could throw snipe remarks at. "About three years", Buffy asked, it wasn't really a lie, right.

"Oh God! Let me guess, after you became a reject in social life, you took in one of those geeks that couldn't get a real date", September sniped and then turned to smile widely at the figure that had made his way to the table. "Hey honey", she said in a sugary voice and the man stepped into view, giving September a kiss. Buffy instantly recognized him, it was Tyler, her ex from the time she lived in LA. He hadn't changed much, he looked more like a man than the boy he had then but other than that, not many changes.

"You remember Buffy, don't you", September said and signed to Buffy. "Yeah, I remember Buffy. We used to date in high school", Tyler answered and eyed at her in a way that made Buffy nervous. "Oh right. I completely forgot about that", September said but her voice revealed that it was just an act.

"So you moved back here?" Tyler asked and sat next to September who was now clinging to his side. "Yeah, me and Angel..." she started to say when she was interrupted by the giggles coming from September and Tyler.

"Angel", September laughed. "That's really a girly name", Tyler added. "Well, that's the only 'girly' thing you'll ever find in him, he's ALL man", Buffy shot back giving a double meaning she would never have dared before, they could mock her all they wanted but nobody trashed her boyfriend. Few short moments later she got up from the table.

"I'm gonna go get a drink", she stated and left, she was too pissed to ask politely if anyone else wanted anything. She passed the bar and went to the phones, quickly dialing the number.

"Angel Investigations..." Cordelia's cheery voice started but Buffy didn't let her finish. "Hey Cordy. Is Angel there?" she asked hoping that he was, she didn't know how long she could take this anymore.

"Yeah, he's here", Cordelia answered and covered the phone with her hand. "Angel! Phone!" she yelled and Buffy had to pull the phone away from her ear cause it was almost like she had screamed directly to the phone.

"He's coming. So how is the club?" Cordelia said to the phone and took a relaxed position on the chair behind her desk. "I guess it's fine. Big, noisy, the usual", Buffy answered.

"And your friends?" "They're not my friends. They haven't changed since high school, except for the nose jobs and silicones", Buffy answered absently, hoping that Angel would pick up soon so she could get out of the club.

"What is it?" she heard Angel's voice on the other end. "Buffy", Cordelia shortly answered and handed the phone to Angel.

"Hey, are you okay?" Angel asked trying to keep the worry out of his voice. "I'm fine. But I'm gonna need my prince to save the damsel in distress", she assured him with a small smile playing on her lips.

"Is it really that bad?" Angel asked. "How fast can you get here?" Buffy answered pointedly. "Okay, I'll come right away", Angel promised and grabbed his jacket from a chair, pulling it on while holding the phone in the crook of his neck.

"Thanks, I'll see you soon", Buffy said, relief showing in her voice. They said their goodbyes and Buffy hung up, she turned around to leave but found herself trapped between two arms as Tyler leaned to the wall behind her.

"You know, you're hotter now than you were back when we were together. You have really filled up in all the right places", Tyler said as his eyes scanned her body all over making her feel disgusted. "Could you move, please", Buffy asked as politely as she could without throwing him across the room.

"Oh come on, you don't want me to. I thought we could have some fun, fresh up some old memories", he suggested and let his hand move to her arm, sliding up and down her bare skin. Buffy looked at his hand and then lifted her gaze to his eyes.

"If you don't want a broken arm, I suggest you remove it", she said her voice cool and serious, leaving no doubt that she would follow through her threat. "Come on, Buffy, don't be that way. We could have some fun together", Tyler whined and Buffy couldn't help but have a unpleasant flashback to the time when Parker tried to come on to her. She shuddered in disgust.

"You have a girlfriend. And more importantly, I have a boyfriend", Buffy said sternly and flashed the Claddagh ring. "Come on, just because the guy gave you an ugly ring doesn't mean..." Tyler started to say but decided to cut short when he saw the look on Buffy's face, he was one step away from being slapped across the face. "I'm going back to the table", she stated and shoved him from her way, walking back to the table.

"Didn't get the drink after all?" September said and from her tone, Buffy could tell that she knew all about where Tyler had gone. "I don't think I could swallow anything without puking", Buffy muttered, she couldn't remember why she had been friends with these people and what had she ever seen in Tyler. Buffy could see just by the look that September was about to say something bitchy to her but suddenly, her gaze strayed and she started looking at something with lusty eyes.

"Well, girls, that boy is mine, he's not gonna even know what hit him", she said and stood up ready to jump the guy she saw. Buffy turned to look and saw Angel nearing the table.

"Hey", he said softly as he reached the table. "Hey", cooed September certain the hunk was talking to him. "Hey", Buffy whispered back and pulled him into a passionate kiss, as soon as their lips met, all the people in the room seemed to disappear. Angel pulled back with a crooked smile playing on his lips, he leaned closer to her ear, giving it a small nip.

"I take it you missed me", he huskily whispered to her ear, he wasn't usually comfortable showing affection in public but seeing all the men around her, looking at her like she was available, made him want to mark his territory.

"Come on, Buffy, could you be anymore of a slut. What happened to the boyfriend of three years?" September sniped, pulling Angel out of his musings. Angel pulled back to look who was insulting his girlfriend but first his eyes landed on the young man who was seething in jealousy and he couldn't help but feel his own possessiveness take over, that boy had no right look at his Buffy that way.

"Hi, I'm Angel, Buffy's boyfriend", Angel introduced himself and offered his hand, giving the boy a hard measuring look. "Hi, I'm September", September said seductively but Angel didn't seem to pay any attention to the sound of her voice.

"Sorry, but I have to steal my Buffy from you", Angel said but he didn't sound at all sorry about it, the sooner he got her away from the little snot-nose that was drooling after her, the better. He knew he was being like a adolescent but when it was about Buffy, he couldn't help himself and that had been established several times already.

"You could stay with us", September cooed, not ready to give up, even though her boyfriend was standing behind her. "We have more important things to do", Angel stated to Buffy's shock, he didn't just like the girl that had insulted his Buffy.

"Come on, you could do so much better than her", September whined, she wasn't used to being turned down, what she wanted, she got. "I don't think so", Angel just said and helped Buffy into her jacket. Buffy turned to look at her one time friend who wasn't even trying to disguise her lust towards Angel, she knew Angel wouldn't fall for someone like September but that didn't make her any less jealous.

"September, grow up. We're not in high school anymore so just get over it", she said to September and took a hold of Angel's hand, trying to get some courage from knowing he was there. The group looked at her shocked as she walked out with Angel. Neither of them said anything till they reached his car.

"Thanks, for coming, I really needed to get out of there", she said with a smile and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "You're welcome", he answered and tried to continue casually: "So who was the boy?" For a moment Buffy was confused but then it dawned to her.

"Tyler?" "Your ex?!" Angel asked feeling the jealousy grow and his brows furrow together ready for a good brooding. "How did you know that? Never mind... Are you jealous?" she asked raising her eyebrows in amusement.

"I'm not jealous, I just didn't like the way he was looking at you", Angel denied. Buffy giggled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You're jealous", she accused with a grin playing on her lips.

"You know I find it kind of cute when you get all possessive but you really need to get a grip. I don't want anyone else but you, and if Tyler was the last guy on earth, I'd let the human race extinct, he's a major sleaze", Buffy assured him.

"Did he try something?" Angel asked now suspicious. "Let's not talk about them, I want to forget all about this evening. So why don't we just go home", she cut him off and raised her eyebrow suggestively. Angel nodded, giving in but that didn't stop the gnawing jealousy inside him.

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The next day, Angel went to the hospital. He found Meltzer's office easily and with a quick look around him, he forcefully broke the lock and stepped inside. Angel looked around the office, certificates on the wall, picture of Melissa on the table and bookshelf full of books. He saw Meltzer on the other room talking to someone, Angel went to the bookshelf and pulled out a book with description on it. He heard Meltzer walk into the room, so he quickly he slipped the book into his jacket pocket.

"What are you doing in here?" Meltzer asked and Angel turned around, pulling a calling card out of his jacket pocket. "Name's Jensen, I need to talk to you", Angel said and handed the card to him.

"You can't just barge in, you need to make an appointment", Meltzer said while glancing at the card. "I don't have time for appointments. I'm told that you can do things no one else can." Meltzer went to the phone, already pushing the numbers. "You'll never find out. I'm calling security", he said but Angel interrupted him.

"My wife has a malignant tumor that's pressing on her ocular cavity. She' going to die unless someone has the nerve to operate", he said putting as much emotion into his voice as he could, succeeding by thinking Buffy.

"What you are talking about is a very difficult and dangerous procedure. I could lose my license. Now, I understand your situation, but I can't help you", Meltzer said hanging up the phone and turning to Angel. Angel glanced at the table before grabbing the picture of Melissa and holding it for Meltzer to see.

"What does she mean to you?" Angel asked. "What?" Meltzer asked seemingly not getting where he was going with it. "What is she, your wife, your girlfriend? What?" "She's my fiancée", Meltzer answered

"Nice. Set a date yet?" Angel kept the conversation going. "We're working that out", Meltzer answered first unsure. "Did you know right away? That she was the one?" "I don't see how this has anything", Meltzer protested.

"I tell you how, do you know what it's like to be so much a part of someone that you don't know where they end and you begin? Would you die for her?" Angel continued, showing the picture to him pointedly. "Yes."

"Then you understand that I'm not willing to make any compromises. I'm not willing to watch her suffer and die while the law catches up with science. What I'm willing to do, is pay you what ever it takes. Think about it. Please", Angel said, placed the picture back to the desk and walked away.

Angel walked into the office, ready to pour some coffee but thought better of it at the last minute. "Hey, where you been all day?" he heard Buffy's voice, he turned around and saw her sitting on the desk.

"I talked to Vinpur Natpudan." "Who?" Buffy asked scrunching her face in confusion. "The writer of the book I took from Meltzer's office", Angel answered with a small smile, he couldn't help but think how cute she looked, not that it was unusual thought for him.

"For someone who's allergic to sun, you sure move around a lot during the daylight. What did this Vinpur guy say?" she said starting with playful tone but soon switched back into business mode. "He told me about the conferences he used to hold, Meltzer attended to them. And it seems that Meltzer can separate himself, that's how he can be in many places at once." Again Buffy crunched her face.

"As in body parts?" she asked with a frown and it only deepened as Angel nodded. "Okay, bad flashbacks... I need to call back to Sunnydale, but after that I'm heading out for a quick patrol. Wanna join me?" she changed the subject.

"What if I just go for the patrol, you've got classes tomorrow", Angel suggested. "You sure?" Buffy asked raising her eyebrows. Angel gave her an assuring smile and a nod before planting a soft kiss to her lips. "Yes, I'm sure."

.

On his way home, Angel stopped at Melissa's house, finding her running from the house in near panic after Meltzer had come after her. Angel called the police and Doyle, he had a quick talk with Kate about the situation while Doyle comforted Melissa. He headed towards them but Doyle met him in half way.

"How is she doing?" Angel asked nodding towards Melissa. "Numb. Did they get any prints?" Doyle answered and Angel nodded in conformation.

"Good. So we can put him behind bars... for about 90 seconds until he skitters through 'em... Not a lot of things that make me shudder but this guy crawling around under the covers", Doyle said and gave a short pause before continuing. "At least it was just his hands down there. Wish I hadn't even thought that." He scrunched his face at the thought.

"He's coming undone", Angel stated. "I'll say." "No, I mean he's out of control. He's killing now", Angel clarified. "Anyone that comes between him and his obsession", Doyle said and then seemed to think of something. "Don't we stand between him and his obsession? I'm not putting too cowardly a point on it but if this guy can't be contained and he can't be killed, what are we going to do about it?"

"If his body parts go long enough without any blood and oxygen, they're going to deteriorate, he's not gonna be able to put himself back together no matter how much psychic surgery he knows." "So what are you saying? Break him down and box him up?"

"Of course that's just a theory." Angel said shrugging his shoulders. "What do we do in the mean time?" "Protect her", Angel answered simply, glancing at where Melissa was standing.

After the cops left, Angel made a call to Buffy and Cordelia before taking Melissa back to the apartment and as soon as they arrived, Doyle started blocking every way into the apartment.

"That should do it, he's not going to come crawling in here", Doyle announced and threw the duck tape to the table. "This is all so weird, for him to be able to do that... If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. It's still hard to believe", Melissa said shuddering at the memory.

"Don't worry. We're going to handle this, he's not going to hurt you anymore", Angel assured her. "Yeah, there's no need to worry, Angel has lots of experience in stalking", Cordelia started but seeing the looks everyone were giving her, she finished differently than she intended. "...cases." Buffy rolled her eyes and handed Melissa another cup of coffee.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Cordelia asked Angel and signed to the elevator. Angel nodded and they made their way upstairs. "Okay Melissa stays here with us that makes sense, since we have the slay-girl and the super-vamp, but the part about you taking care of the doctor. This guy is really dangerous", Cordelia started as soon as they stepped into the office. She looked in question as Angel started flipping through the phone book not really paying attention to her.

"What are you doing?" she asked little annoyed. "Seeing where I can get some steel boxes at this hour of the night", was the simple answer from Angel.

"Steel boxes? Why would you want..." Cordelia started incredulously till the realization hit her. "Oh! For packing up people parts... You know this job, don't get me wrong I'm grateful to have it. God knows it's educational, but sometimes..." she started to say but the phone ringing interrupted her. "God who's calling at this..." she leaned over the phone and saw the line 3 light flashing. "It's the special line", she stated. "Answer it", Angel told her.

"Right. Now, who are we again? Johnson International Holdings?" Cordelia asked turning to him. "Jensen", he corrected her. "Jensen. Got it. Jensen, now does that sound like an international name?" she kept on talking. "Cordelia", Angel sighed tiredly and Cordelia answered the phone.

"Jensen International Holdings. How may I direct your call? Please hold." She put the call on hold and stated: "It's him." "Brian Jensen", Angel answered to the phone. "Down side of being global... I do, thank you... Are you in your office? --- I'll bring it to you tonight", Angel said to the phone and hung up.

"You're going over there? What if he comes apart on you?" Cordelia asked. "If he comes apart on me, he's going to stay that way", Angel stated and got up from the desk.

"I'm coming with you", Buffy said from the door, she had sneaked upstairs during the phone call. "No, I need you to stay here", Angel answered but Buffy wasn't going to give up so easily. "You need help, I'm coming with you." Angel sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Buffy, I need you to stay here with Melissa, if he comes here, you are the only one strong enough to fight him", he explained and went to her. "Fine, I understand what you mean but take note that I don't like you going there alone", she gave in and looked at him with a slight pout, making him smile at her expression. "Note taken. I'll see you later", he said with a small smile and kissed her before making his way out the door.

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Angel walked into Meltzer's office, Meltzer was sitting behind his desk, looking very collected. "That's a big box. You didn't have to bring it in small bills Mr. Jensen", he stated. Angel placed the steel box to the desk and fixed his eyes on Meltzer.

"Actually I didn't bring..." he started to say but Meltzer finished fort him. "...Any money at all? No, I didn't think you would. Though the safety deposit box is a nice touch. I mean your name is not really Jensen. You don't have a wife", Meltzer said.

"Not in the legal sense", Angel stated and instinctively glanced at the Claddagh ring in his finger. Meltzer placed his hand on the table, drawing Angel's eyes to it while he shot Angel with a tranquilizer gun with his other.

"I developed this injector while working with animals", Meltzer said as Angel pulled out the dart from his neck and let it fall to the floor. "They don't like their limbs cut off any more than we do and they can hurt you if you get to close. You'll feel a slight sinking sensation, that's your heart slowing down as the paralytic takes effect. Eventually it'll stop all together", Meltzer explained and got up from behind the desk.

"I just can't get over the audacity to think that you could take her from me? I saw you, I saw you holding her", he continued vehemently and Angel fell down to his knees gasping for breath. "Nobody can break the bond between us. Nobody", Meltzer kept on going, getting angry. He picked up a scalpel and started pacing the office.

"Clearly even she can't accept that. If tried so hard to show her in so many ways. I've taken care of her, been there for her, even when she didn't know it." Angel fell down to the floor, rolling to his back.

"If that isn't devotion. And what do I get for my trouble? She lies, she cheats. But no more. I won't be made a fool of", Meltzer kept on ranting, his voice getting more angrier. "She would have made a beautiful bride", he stated before he left the office.

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Buffy sighed deeply and looked at the clock once more, she was getting restless, she had never been one to sit around and wait. She placed her psych book down as she heard sounds from another room. She got up from the chair and stated that Melissa was sleeping and Doyle and Cordelia seemed to be having the usual argument but they stopped as they heard the noise as well.

"Grab some weapons", she whispered and headed to the other room with a crossbow in her hands. Cordelia and Doyle took weapons from the wall and went to the trap door on the floor where a hand was trying to open the bolt. Doyle yanked the lid open but he didn't see anything, at the same time, Meltzer walked behind Cordelia and wrapped his hand on her mouth before slamming her to the wall. He threw her into a closet as his hand pulled Doyle down the trap door, the lid slamming behind. Buffy stepped into the room and pointed her crossbow at Meltzer who looked at her in slight amusement.

"You people really are something. I bet you don't even know how to use that toy", he stated. "Well, you'd loose that bet", Buffy shot back, she glanced up and down the man in front of her, noticing the missing hand.

"Loose a hand?" she asked, she noticed that Melissa had awakened but she didn't shift her gaze from Meltzer. "Stupid little girl", he spat and at the same time the hand jumped at Buffy, wrapping its fingers around her throat. He slammed her against the brick wall and she slumped down to the floor. Melissa watched in horror as the hand crawled back to Meltzer and settled back into its place.

"What are you?" she managed to choke out. "I'm more than meets the eye. But you never bothered to find out, did you? You just took advantage of my kindness", he started and pulled out the scalpel. "Led me on until you could find yourself a vacuous LA pretty boy", he accused and Melissa tried to run past him but he grabbed her and cornered her against a wall.

"I'm very disappointed in you Melissa", he chided her. "I know... I didn't mean..." she stammered staring at the scalpel in his hand. "No, no, no. no. Stop now. You're babbling."

"I think... I think you disappoint yourself. I think you gave up on being loved a long time ago and now you're just another creep who gets off on pain." "Now don't try your little childish...", Meltzer started to cut her off. Buffy started to get off the floor and help Melissa but she stopped as she heard what she was saying.

"I think you know that I would be crazy to want to touch you, to wake up next to little pieces of what ever you are", Melissa continued getting her courage back. "Shut up", Meltzer commanded getting angry and loosing his cool.

"You turned yourself into a freak, Ronald, a vile, repulsive freak. And I'm done being afraid of you. You can cut me and you can kill me, but it still won't change what you are", she said getting more and more confident. She saw his neck bulging, moving like something was under the skin. "Angel was right. You're weak!" she accused and that was the last straw for him.

"I'm weak? Then how was it that I killed him?" he spat vehemently and spun around as the door slid open and Angel stepped inside. "Inefficiently" he stated.

"You can't be alive. You... you're not human!" Meltzer accused surprised of seeing Angel. Angel glanced quickly at Buffy noticing the red marks on her neck, an involuntary growl escaping from his throat. Meltzer's eyes darkened and he lunged at Melissa but Buffy and Angel went after him. He spun around and spat his teeth at Angel, they grabbed him by his arm but Angel smashed his arm against the doorframe.

As Angel closed in on him, he stabbed the scalpel into Angel chest and he went staggering backwards. Meltzer threw his other hand at Angel, the fingers wrapping around his throat, choking him as he kept advancing on Melissa. Buffy grabbed his arm as he kept walking but it cut off from him, as she saw the stub, she threw it across the room. "Eww."

Meanwhile, Angel managed to pry the other hand off his neck and as it tried to attack him again, he stabbed it with the scalpel he pulled off his chest. He got up and went to the other room. "We could have been so happy together", Meltzer said to Melissa as his other ear fell off.

"Hey doc", Buffy said drawing Meltzer's attention right before she threw a roundhouse kick at him, his head flying off across the room. Angel pulled Melissa against his chest to keep her from looking at the body but he kept his eyes fixed on Buffy who gave him a reassuring smile.

.

Buffy and Angel stepped into the office as Cordelia was making coffee, or more likely just adding more into the previous grounds.

"Maybe I should take the coffee making duties from now on", Buffy stated as Cordelia switched the machine on. "Fine by me as long as I get paid", Cordelia answered flippantly, then she turned and looked at the couple with her head tilted to the side.

"So. He's not coming into one full stalker skittering pieces psycho again, is he?" she asked little more seriously. "No, he's packed away in boxes below the new subway station", Angel answered.

"What is it with you and body parts in boxes?" Cordelia said directing to Buffy. Buffy just shrugged innocently as she noticed that Melissa walked into the office carrying a plant in her hands.

"Morning", she greeted and received a chorus of good mornings. "I brought this for you guys", she said and handed Angel the green plant. "I hope it doesn't need light?" Angel stated looking at the plant in his hands. "I'm sure it'll be fine in here."

"Can I offer you some coffee?" Cordelia asked but Melissa shook her head, grimacing at the thought. "Coffee, no thanks. I can only stay a minute. Places to go, people to see. Thanks to you", Melissa said with a slight smile and Doyle and Cordelia started fake coughing as sign to Angel.

"Ah...there.." he tried to say awkwardly. "What?" "There is... ah... there is a... bill?" he tried to say barely managing. "Bill who?" Melissa asked. "A bill for my services", Angel clarified feeling even worse than before.

"Of course. That's the other reason I came", Melissa said and pulled out a check from her purse, handing it to Angel but it was Cordelia who jumped between and grabbed it. "I'll take that thank you", she stated.

"I mean, I didn't do it for money", Angel tried to explain but Melissa stopped him. "Oh, please you earned it. Well, hope I never see you again", she said and shook Angel's hand. "Me too. Good luck." Melissa gave a slight smile to the others before she left the room.

"Well, that didn't go so badly, did it", Doyle said from his place next to Cordelia. "See, you can save damsel and make decent money. Is this a great country or what?!" Cordelia said enthusiastically, beaming at the check in her hands.

"Let's march down to the bank and deposit this beauty", Doyle suggested. "You guys go ahead. I think I'll stay here and not burst into flames", Angel said to them and placed the plant to the table.

"Oh, right, you're pretty much the night deposit guy. Still, cause to celebrate." "You think everything's a cause to celebrate", Cordelia stated patting Doyle in the back before picking up her purse and they made their way out the office. Buffy turned to Angel and gave him a smile before walking across the room in front of him.

"Was it as bad as it seemed?" she asked and Angel gave her a small smile. "Worse." "Well, I need to go to class but I'll comfort you when I get back. Tell Doyle not to have any visions without me", she said and pulled Angel into a lingering kiss. "I'll see you later", she said with a real smile and picked up her bag before leaving. Angel watched as she went and then turned to the table as the phone started ringing.

"Angel investigations... Hello Giles... You just missed her, she went to class... Yes, I know, she said she'll come there this weekend... Everything is fine... Yes, I'll tell her... And to call her mother... I know... Okay, have a nice day", he said to the phone and hung up sighing deeply. In few days Buffy would be going back to Sunnydale, it wasn't like she hadn't gone there many times during the summer but every time the visits seemed longer, or at least felt longer.

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To be continued...

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**A/N:** Thank you to kristen12386, who gave me the idea of adding some people who she knew back when she lived in LA before.


	4. Living arrangements

**A/N:** Thank you to all the readers and a special thanks for all the reviews (they really keep my muse happy), it's good to know what people think about this story.

**A/N2:** Some of the dialog is from Angel season 1 episode Rm w/a vu and Buffy season 5 episode Real me.

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Chapter 4: Living arrangements

Doyle walked down the stairs and stopped at the bottom, staying still, watching the happenings in the room. The little furniture the room had, had been moved to the side and Angel and Buffy were standing in the middle of the floor. They were both wearing their work out clothes and were making slow tai chi moves, Buffy mimicking his movements. Doyle couldn't help but feel slightly at awe as the couple moved as one and after a while, Angels moved behind her, covering her arms with his and guiding her movements. As his lips descended on her shoulder, Doyle decided it was time to make his presence known. He cleared his throat and walked into the room as though he hadn't seen anything.

"Could you please learn to knock". Buffy sighed and stepped away from Angels arms, annoyed that they had been interrupted. "Sorry, darlin' but Cordelia wants to talk to Angel", Doyle said shrugging his shoulders and lazily sat down to a chair. Angel glanced at Doyle, not liking the interruption either but opted it was better to go and talk to Cordelia before she came downstairs. He grabbed a sweater and pulled it on, he gave Buffy a quick peck on the lips before going upstairs.

"You knew Cordelia before, right?" Doyle asked and Buffy nodded slowly, raising her eyebrow in question. "Yeah, why?"

"Just curious. Who's Aura?" Doyle answered acting casual. "She was one of the Cordette's, back in high school Cordy was the queen C and she had the flock of faithful followers of rich and bitchy snobs", Buffy said with a sardonic smile, she had been targeted too many times by them but she didn't let that get to her, not anymore.

"And she was the richest of them all? From what I've heard her talk about her past, it's like the servants were made of solid gold." "I wouldn't be surprised if they were. But her parents forgot to pay their taxes, like forever and they lost everything. But I think she's doing okay now, sure it's not the marriage with a millionaire and fabulous career in movies but she'll land on her feet", Buffy stated.

She glanced around herself and sighed. "Since you were the one interrupting my tai chi lesson", she started and gave Doyle a dirty look as he raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Get your mind out of the gutter. You better make yourself useful and help me pack." She went to the bedroom with Doyle following her, staying at the door leaning to the door frame as Buffy took out a suitcase throwing it to the bed.

"Packing?" Doyle questioned. "I'm going back to Sunnydale for the weekend, all that liquor you've been drinking must be affecting your memory. Get me the crossbow from living room", she answered smirking and continued packing her clothes.

Some time later Angel came back down and walked into the bedroom, noticing the half-packed suitcase. "You're packing", he stated solemnly. "Yeah, I have to be in the bus in an hour", she answered, halting her movements and locking her eyes with his.

"I can't see you to the bus station. Why you're leaving so early?" "Mom pressured me to come early, she's putting me on babysitting duty", she explained crunching her face, showing that she wasn't happy about it.

"She's what?" Angel asked watching her in question, she could see from his face that he was doing some hard thinking.

"She's got some big opening at the gallery and I have to look after Dawn so she doesn't get into trouble", she explained but when Angels expression changed to one of confusion, she raised her eyebrow in question.

"Dawn?" he questioned and then seemed to realize something. "Your sister." Buffy looked at him like he had grown another head. "Do we know any other Dawn?" she asked with a tinge of sarcasm and concern. Angel just gave her a smile which did little to appease her confusion.

"Are you okay?" she asked and quickly made her way to him, lifting her hand to cup his cheek. He gave her another smile and placed a soft kiss to her lips. "Just little distracted", he assured her and with her skeptical look, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her flush against him before claiming her lips. Doyle cleared his throat at the door and the couple turned to look at him with identical glares. "Your crossbow", he explained his presence and tried to fight against the urge to run away to save his skin.

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Buffy stepped out of the bus and her eyes found Giles, leaning against a red convertible. She couldn't help but giggle as she made her way to him.

"New car?" she questioned, letting her eyes take in the mid-life-crisis vehicle. "Yes." Buffy walked around car, throwing her bag to the backseat and stepped in. Giles started the car and after a short silence started with shop talk.

"After you have settled in at your mothers, will we have a training session?" he asked and Buffy nodded but realizing that he wasn't looking she answered. "Yeah, sure. Angel's been teaching me tai chi again, we used to do that back here but it used to lead to bad touching." Giles turned sharply to look at her.

"Giles, the road. And get your mind out of the gutter, I mean back then any touching was bad, it was before his soul was permanent", she explained awkwardly, Giles was the closest thing to a father for her, discussing about touching Angel, no matter how innocent, wasn't a topic was comfortable talking with him.

"Umm... How is the demon situation in Los Angeles?" he changed the subject with a slight stutter. "Just fine, plenty of vamps to dust and even a doctor who's limps were running around loose", she answered airily. "Well, Los Angeles is a big city, there is bound to be plenty of demon activity." "But the doc wasn't demon, just evil", Buffy clarified not loosing the flippant tone.

They kept the shop talk going till they reached the Summers house and Giles promised to pick up Buffy in two hours. She watched as Giles drove away and she took a deep calming breathe, too bad it did little to calm her. She grabbed her suitcase and made her way to the door, for a moment contemplating should she just walk in or ring the door bell. Finally deciding that it was her home after all, she took out her keys and stepped inside.

"Mom! Dawn!" she called out to the seemingly empty house. "We're in the kitchen!" her mother's voice was heard. Buffy put down her suitcase and went to the kitchen, where Joyce and Dawn were in the middle of a perfect mother-daughter moment, Joyce and Dawn were decorating the pancakes with cream, chocolate sauce and berries.

Joyce lifted her head and gave her daughter a warm smile as Dawn just acknowledged her with a quick glance. "Hi, honey. Sorry we have just two plates of pancakes", Joyce said and then added as a afterthought: "I could make some more." Buffy gave her a tight reassuring smile.

"No need, Angel made me breakfast", she said and it was all she could say about it to her mother. "Oh good, I just have enough time to eat these and head to the gallery", Joyce said in relief and started eating her pancakes.

"You're going to the gallery already? But I'm meeting Giles to train and we're stopping at the magic shop", Buffy tried to protest but Joyce gave her one of her stern looks. "Buffy, I need you to take care of Dawn while I'm at work, this opening is very important and you can spare the time to spend time with your sister. Mister Giles can wait and you are taking Dawn to buy school supplies."

"I don't need a babysitter", Dawn protested with her mouth full. "Come on, you do, you get into trouble with every turn you take", Buffy said and turned to her mother. "But that doesn't mean I have to be the sitter. Mom, I have told you how she is when Giles and I are training."

"I know this slayer thing is important to you but it wouldn't kill you to help me, Buffy", Joyce said pulling the full guilt mode. She placed the empty plate on the sink and grabbed her purse. "I'll see you later, honey", she said placing a motherly kiss to Dawn's cheek before making her way out.

Buffy sighed deeply and turned to look at her sister. "I'm going to unpack, be ready when Giles comes", she said and left the kitchen, grabbing her suitcase on the way she went to her room. With one look around, she knew Dawn had been going through her things and she had never been happier that her diaries were in LA.

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Giles picked up the Summers girls and they rode to the Magic Shop, Dawn moping on the backseat like a petulant child.

Willow and Tara were just going in to the Magic Shop when Giles pulled over. "Hey!" Dawn yelped waving her hands and the two women turned, walking to the car.

"Nice wheels", Willow commented. "Rest of the car is nice too", Tara added. Everyone got up from the car. "Hey, guys. You going to the magic shop?" Buffy asked. "Yeah, I have some charms in order", Willow answered with a nod.

"Hey", Dawn said with a smile and again waved her hand, more subtly this time. "Hey Dawn", Willow answered and started a conversation with the younger Summers girl as the group made their way towards the Magic Shop.

"Maybe it's closed", Tara suggested as they could see the shop was dark. "That's odd", Giles stated as he opened the door and slowly they made their way inside the rummaged shop. "I'm thinking the odd just got upgraded to bad. Dawn, stay back", Buffy said as they moved further in.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Giles called out but there was no answer. "Mr Bogarty?" Tara called out and Willow turned to look at her in question. "The owner. I come here a lot", she explained.

They split to different directions and suddenly Willow tripped. "Au", she moaned. "Will, you okay?" Buffy asked making her way to where Willow was.

"Oh, fine. I just tripped over... Mr Bogarty", Willow said seeing the body on the floor, his neck full of vampire bites. "Is he okay?" Dawn asked and tried to come and look but Buffy gave her a stern look.

"Go wait outside", she said her voice leaving no room for discussion. "I don't want to wait outside", Dawn protested and again tried to come closer. Buffy grabbed her by her elbow and dragged her to the door, pushing her outside.

"Dawn, wait here", she commanded. "I'm telling mom", she threatened and Buffy sighed deeply, pinching bridge of her nose with two of her fingers willing herself to calm down. "Do as you like, I don't have time for this. Just wait here", she said and went back inside where Giles was examining the body without touching it.

"From the bite marks, I'd say there was more than one vampire, four from what I'm counting", he stated and stood up. "So a new fang-club." Willow came to them holding a book in her hands.

"I've cross-checked the inventory list, and things are definitely missing. Mostly books. Including A Treatise on the Mythology and Methodology of the Vampire Slayer", she said and Buffy took the list as Giles took the inventory book.

"Oh, shoot! Was that the only copy?" Buffy said and Giles gave her a annoyed look. "Come on, Buffy, this could be very serious. Whoever is leading this pack of vampires appears to be interested in learning more about you. Perhaps searching for weaknesses or ... good lord!" "What?" Buffy asked slightly alarmed.

"I had no idea the profit margins on a shop like this were so high", Giles said in wonderment. "Look at this! Low overhead, out-of-state orders, international. It's no wonder there's never any trouble attracting new owners. A place like this is a virtual..." he continued looking around himself. "Deathtrap?" Buffy assisted.

"What? Well, uh, yes, there is that. But, uh, still... Location, pedestrian traffic..." Giles continued distractedly, walking around the shop. "Maybe I should start looking for their hide-out tonight since I only have this weekend to dust those vamps", Buffy said and Giles nodded absently but soon noticed something was missing.

"Something else has been taken from this case", he stated and Willow started going through the inventory book. "I should think an item of value, or power, possibly even a..." Giles started but was interrupted by Willow. "A unicorn. 10-inch ceramic unicorn imported from Thailand."

"Was it valuable?" "List price, $12,95" was Willows response. "Which begs the question, what kind of an unholy creature fancies cheap tasteless statuary?" Giles questioned.

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Later in the evening Joyce returned home and just as Dawn promised, she told her mother about the day. "You took your sister to a murder scene?!" Joyce asked incredulously.

"I didn't take her to a murder scene, it just happened. And it's not like she saw anything", Buffy tried to defend herself but just got a scolding look from her mother. "And that makes it all better? Buffy, you need to learn some responsibility, I trusted you to look after your sister for one day and this is what happened", she sighed shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, okay. But I need to go on patrol", Buffy said looking down to the floor. "What about Dawn? I have to be at the gallery. Can't you just leave the patrolling for one night?" "I can't, I'm here only for the weekend and I need to find this gang before I go back to LA. What if I get a babysitter for her?"

"I don't need a babysitter!" Dawn yelled from her room causing Buffy to roll her eyes. "Where are you going to find someone in such a short notice?" Joyce asked obviously not believing in the chance.

"Xander", Buffy answered and Joyce looked at her like she had grown another head. "Okay", Dawn promised from her room door.

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Angel put the Beethoven playing to the phonograph and went to the bathroom. He shed his clothes, putting them down neatly and stepped into the shower that had been running for a while. He let the water wet his hair before shaking some of the water off and leaning against the wall, letting the water cascade down his back.

But the calming moment was broken by the thumping noise from the door. Angel groaned out loud and stepped out, grabbing a towel before wrapping it around his waist. He went to the door and opened it, to his surprise finding Cordelia on the other side. "Cordelia?" he asked as Cordelia walked inside, shoving two large suitcases into his arms.

"It was awful! I'm not going back there!" she said shaking her head dramatically. "Don't look at me! I look terrible", she continued, shielding her face with her hands before pointing to the door. "And there's more of my suitcases on the hall, you might want to get them." All Angel could do was watch her speechless till he finally got his head around.

"What happened?" "My apartment! It was terrible! I even tried to call Doyle. I have sunk that low. When he didn't answer, I came here, though it's not like this is the last resort, I just don't have anywhere else to go. There was roaches! Live ones, dead ones, all scrawny feet and creepy antlers", she kept on talking signing with her hands. "Antlers?" Angel questioned with a raised eyebrow and let the bags slide down to the floor so he could get a better grip on the towel that was hung around his hips.

"And the water was all brown and spurty and not hot! I'm dying for a shower. I actually smell! I never smell! I'm just going to have to stay here until I can find a decent place, however long that takes and when I do you are completely invited over. You can just dump my stuff on the couch or let me have the bed, it's not like Buffy will mind since she's not here. Also my suitcases are still out in the hall. Your shower is in here, right?" she kept talking without giving Angel a chance to say anything back before she turned around and went to the shower with one of her bags.

"What just happened?" Angel asked himself and ran his hand through his wet hair.

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Buffy did a sweep on two cemetery's but didn't find more than one newly risen vampire and a clueless demon that from what she had been reading, wasn't a threat, so she just threatened him and told him to get out of town for his own good.

On the way home, she stopped at a phone booth and dialed home number. She let it ring several times before there was an answer. "Angel investigations, how can we help you", came Cordelia's voice from the other end.

"Cordelia? I thought I called the apartment number and come to think of it, what are you doing there this late?" she asked confused. "Oh, you did call the apartment, the answering just comes so naturally for me, you know what a people person I am, always ready to help my fellow woman. Good news for you, not so much for me, I'm moving here, of course till I get a new apartment. It was so awful! I couldn't stay in that place for one moment longer. I didn't even have a working shower! It was so terrible. So here I am", Cordelia said and Buffy could just picture her talking vividly with her hands.

"You moved to our place? Nevermind, is Angel there?" Buffy asked shaking her head. "He's in the shower. So how's Sunnyhell?" Cordelia answered flippantly.

"The usual, there's a new gang of vamps and they killed the Magic Shop owner and it seems they are after me, what else is new." "Why would anyone want to buy that place, the mortality rate on that shop is so high, if you're suicidal, it's the perfect profession for you. Well, you better kill those vamps so they don't move here and come after me while getting to you." Buffy couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Thanks for the advise, I think I'll do that", she said with her voice spiced with sarcasm but either Cordelia didn't notice or didn't care. "Do you want me to tell Angel to call you back?" Cordelia asked. "No, I'll call him tomorrow, mom will freak if I'm on the phone in the middle of the night. Well, I have to head back home. Bye Cordelia." "Bye", came the answer before Buffy hung up. She looked at the clock on one of the buildings and it was time to really head home, hopefully Dawn hadn't driven Xander and Anya into a nervous breakdown.

Buffy returned home and Xander told her about Harmony coming with minions, he didn't have time to continue his tale as Buffy burst into laughter. "Harmony? She has minions?" she giggled, almost sinking to the floor as she had to take hold of the kitchen counter so she wouldn't. "Yeah, that was our reaction too", Xander answered.

"Minions?" Buffy asked incredulously again and just laughed harder at the idea. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry", she said still smiling, trying to compose herself. "It's just... Harmony has minions!" she continued, again bursting into laughter, not able to help herself.

"Buffy, there's actually a more serious side to all this", Xander tried. "I hope so, cause I'm having trouble breathing", Buffy said again bursting into giggles before managing to straighten up and taking couple of deep breaths. "What is the serious side to this?" she asked keeping a straight face. Xander looked nervously at Anya.

"Well, she did come here to kill you", he said and Buffy burst into laughter. "Come on, Buffy, this is serious", Xander chided. "Especially now that she can enter your house any time she wants", Anya added helpfully and Buffy stopped laughing, turning serious.

"She can what?!" she asked making the couple fidget in front of her. "Uuh, yeah... actually, she... Harmony... kind of happened to sort of get an invite in", Xander tried to get the words out.

"You guys can't invite her in. I mean, only someone who lives here can..." Buffy started to say and then the reality hit her, making her face even more serious. She looked up to the ceiling and then at Xander who nodded, confirming her suspicion.

"Where is she?" she asked, all mirth gone. "In her room. Look, I think she's still pretty freaked out", Xander answered and Buffy headed to the stairs. "Dawn!" she yelled and tried to go upstairs when Xander took a hold of her hand and pulled her back to the kitchen.

"Buff, it was an accident. She didn't mean it", he tried. "Oh, well that just makes it okay then, doesn't it?" Buffy said back and crossed her arms in front of her.

"No, but believe me, nobody feels worse than her right now", Xander said but Buffy just gave him a stern look, one that she had learned from her mother. "She invited a vampire inside this house! I know she's just a kid but she's old enough to understand how dangerous that is. Everybody treats her like she can get away with anything but inviting Harmony in was irresponsible of her, it didn't endanger only her but you, Anya and my mother."

"Give her a break. She's not a slayer, it was a simple mistake", Xander tried to calm her down. "I know she's not but that doesn't mean she can just get away with anything. What she did was stupid, she knows about the creatures in the night and she can't afford mistakes like that, she needs to use her head", Buffy said seething but soon calmed down, taking deep breathes, a solemn look taking over her face.

"She needs to be careful, something really bad might have happened to her. This time she got lucky, but what about the next time.", she said quietly and turned around, leaving the house.

She went to the cemetery and managed to find a unsuspecting vampire that she beat up before staking it. Much more calm, she turned around and headed back to the house. She walked in and met Xander at the bottom of the stairs.

"I called Willow about the de-invitation spell. Where's Anya?" Xander said and looked around himself. They headed to the kitchen finding Anya unconscious on the floor. "Anya!" Xander yelled alarmed and dropped down to his knees, lifting Anya into his arms. Buffy closed the door and grabbed the phone.

"Dawn... She ran out... Harmony..." Anya mumbled half-conscious. "Harmony has Dawn", Buffy whispered to herself, glancing at the door. "Call the ambulance, I'm going to find Dawn", Buffy said to Xander and handed him the phone before running out the door.

She headed straight to Spike's crypt, kicking the door in, she stomped inside. "Speaking of dishes... What do I owe this unpleasant..." Spike started cockily but Buffy wasn't in the mood and punched him in the nose. "Oww! Bloody hell!" he screamed at the pain.

"I don't have time for banter. Where is Harmony's lair?" Buffy asked grabbing a hold of his shirt. "I don't know. I haven't seen the chit..." Spike started but earned another punch in the face. "Bloody hell, slayer! Lay off the nose."

"Where is she?!" Buffy asked with a full slayer tone and when he showed no signs of answering, she pulled her hand back, ready to strike. "All right, all right. She used to have a cave in the north woods. About forty meters past the overpass construction site", Spike gave in and Buffy hit him again before turning around and heading to the door.

"I told you the truth!" Spike yelled at her. "I know."

"You can't just walk into town and start punching people!" "You're not people", Buffy answered before sprinting into run, she needed to find Dawn and soon.

.

Buffy sneaked into the cave and saw one of the big vamps holding Harmony by her throat as Dawn was chained to the wall, one of the others nearing her. "Touch me and my sister's gonna kill you", Dawn threatened but the vamps just laughed at her. "Like this?" one of them said and poked her with his finger. Buffy threw a stake through his back and his heart, the vampire bursting to dust. The others turned to look at her, the big log letting go of Harmony.

"I can't say she didn't warn him", Buffy quipped innocently. "And you didn't believe my plan would work", Harmony said to the beefy vamp. Buffy rolled her eyes and turned to Dawn. "Dawnie, close your eyes", Buffy told her and Dawn did so, scrunching her eyes closed tightly.

"So slayer, at last we meet", Harmony said sounding like from some cheesy B-movie. "We've met, Harmony, you halfwit", Buffy said looking at her like she had lost her mind, though it didn't come to her as a surprise.

"I'm the halfwit? Excuse me but it is you who walked right into my..." Harmony started to boast as the other vamp attacked Buffy with his ax but Buffy staked him with a quick flick of her wrist, grabbing hold of his ax and cutting the other vamps neck with it. "...trap", Harmony finished her sentence as her minions ashes settled down to the ground.

"Harmony, when you tried to be head cheerleader, you were bad. When you tried to chair the homecoming committee, you were really bad. But when you try to be bad... you suck", Buffy said to her, not noticing that the burly vamp was moving behind her.

"Buffy look out!" Dawn yelled in warning and Buffy swung her ax, just missing the vamp. He grabbed hold of the ax and knocked Buffy down with it, hitting her in the back. "Good Mort!" Harmony cheered but when Mort send a dirty look her way, she decided it was best to flee. Mort tried to hit her with the ax but Buffy dodged it, jumping up to her feet and hitting him hard in the face. She grabbed a piece of wood and hit him with it, breaking it in half with the impact.

They traded fierce punches, Buffy managed to dodge most of them till Mort managed to get a strong hit on her. She fell to the ground and he hit her on the back before grabbing her and throwing her across the cave against the wall. He came stomping after her and grabbed her by her throat, lifting her off the ground. She glanced down and saw an old unicorn statue. She placed her feet on his chest and kicked him away from her, landing down to her feet, she grabbed the statue and stabbed him with it.

After the vampire was dust, she looked down at the unicorn she was holding and made a disgusted face before throwing it down. She grabbed the ax as she walked to Dawn, giving her a stern look. "You are in so much trouble", she said to her sister. "Yeah, well... I'm telling mom you slayed in front of me", Dawn threatened with false bravado. Buffy raised her ax and hit the chains, causing sparks to fly but not managing to break them.

"Fine, I'll just tell mom that you ran out of the house in the middle of the night", Buffy said back and hit the chains again. "And that you got Anya hurt", she continued and hit the chains. "And invited a halfwit vampire inside the house." She hit the chains once again. "And got kidnapped." Finally she grabbed the chains and pulled them down from the wall. "Okay, time to go home", she said and they left the cave.

They stopped by at Willow's and Tara's place to get the chains removed from Dawns wrists and then they headed home, just making it home before Joyce came back from the gallery. "Hey, what you two girls been doing all evening?" she asked and placed her purse on the kitchen island.

"Nothing much, just watched some tv, the usual", Buffy said looking at Dawn, she didn't seem to be saying anything to contradict her.

.

Doyle glanced at his watch as he walked down to the apartment hoping he could talk to Angel in private before Cordelia got to work. But to his shock, Cordelia was already sitting at the table freshly showered and wearing only a white robe.

"Hey Doyle", she said only sparing a glance at him and continuing combing her hair with her fingers, using a metal plate as her mirror. "Morning 'Delia", he answered feeling confused. "Hey Doyle", Angel said from behind him and he turned around, seeing Angel only clad in black boxers and robe that was hanging open.

"There's peanut butter on the bed", Angel said to Cordelia who looked at him innocently. "I don't think so", she answered and Angel showed her his hand, stained with chunk of peanut butter. "Okay, I look", Cordelia said sighing and got up, going to the bedroom.

"No, no, no. Angel, man, how could you?!" Doyle accused. Angel just looked at him strange and went to the sink, wiping the butter off his hand with a dishtowel. "Could what?" he asked not understanding what Doyle was talking about.

"Man, you know I was crazy about her, and I was wearing her down, too. But no, handsome, brooding vampire guy has to swoop in, all sensitive mouth and overhanging forehead", Doyle ranted and Angel lifted his hand to his forehead self-consciously.

"How about leaving some scraps for the homely looking fellas. And have you thought about your girlfriend, how she feels about this? How would you feel if I started wooing Buffy?" Doyle continued and involuntary growl escaped Angel.

"Cordelia stayed over because something's wrong with her place. I spent the night on the sofa", Angel explained trying to get rid of the thought of Doyle going after Buffy, it wasn't going to happen, he knew that but still it had rubbed him the wrong way.

"Oh. That's okay, I suppose", Doyle commented looking at the couch. Then he turned to look at Angel again, the look on his face making him a little nervous. "Could you stop looking at me like you're having a dinner party and I'm the main course, it's making me nervous."

"Sorry, just... I'm still a vampire... I know you're not interested in Buffy but..." Angel tried to explain little embarrassed. "Yeah, I know. I've seen the whole property of Angel mark on her. You do know I wasn't serious?" Angel nodded.

"I know. And Buffy would say I'm jealous. I admit it happens, it's a reaction when she's around men, she may be obvious to all the attention she gets but unfortunately I am not." "Well, I completely understand, man. She is a beautiful girl. But need not worry, I have my eyes set on certain brunette", Doyle assured him and the brunette walked in to the kitchen, fully clothed.

"Angel, at some point in the recent history YOU got peanut butter on your bed, and it's gross. I think you're gonna have to change the sheets", she said waving an accusing finger at him. "It's not mine, I don't eat. And I changed the sheet yesterday morning after..." he started but decided to cut short and he was just glad he couldn't blush. Cordelia crunched her nose in displeasure.

"Thanks for the visual!" "Yes, I second that", Doyle grinned and earned a dirty look from Angel, he just shrugged his shoulders innocently as a reply to it. Angel sighed tiredly and headed to the bedroom. He threw the robe to a chair and rummaged through his closet, picking up pair of black pants and a black stripe dress shirt. He sighed again and returned to the kitchen, noticing the wet towel on a leather chair. He got distracted from the towel when he saw the bad bruise on Doyle's hand.

"What happened to your hand?" he asked drawing Doyle's eyes to his hand. "Badminton", he answered, making Angel suspicious.

Angel grabbed the towel from the chair and showed it to Cordelia. "Why is there a wet towel on my leather chair?" he asked but Cordelia just shrugged her shoulders innocently and gave him a big fake smile. Sighing he turned around and went upstairs.

For a moment he just stared at the phone till finally grabbing it and dialing Buffy's home number. Finally there was an answer. "Dawn Summers", was heard from the phone.

"Hey, lass. Is your sister home?" he said to the phone and sat down to the table. "Hey Angel. Yeah, she's here", Dawn answered and covered the phone with her hand before screaming Buffy's name, still Angel had to draw the phone away from his ear.

"It sounds like she's coming. So how is LA? Have you seen Johnny Depp?" Dawn asked and Angel couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. "Who's Johnny Depp?" he asked and could hear the exasperated sigh on the other end. "Who doesn't know who's Johnny Depp, hasn't Buffy taught you anything? But at least you don't call me a kid anymore." "You've told me not to call you a kid."

"Is that Angel?" Buffy asked coming from behind her. Dawn turned to look at her not wanting to give up the phone but Buffy gave her a stern look, making her roll her eyes. "I have to go, your _girlfriend _wants to talk to you", she said and slapped the phone to Buffy's hand. "Thank you", Buffy called after her and sat down to the couch.

"Angel?" she answered to the phone. "Hey. How are things there?" he said to the phone, he couldn't help the small smile from rising to his lips.

"Not bad, the usual, Dawn invited a vamp inside the house, ran into the night and got kidnapped by Harmony", Buffy answered flippantly even though she felt everything but and Angel could tell it was all a front. "But you saved her. Are you okay?" Angel asked with concern showing in his voice, making Buffy serious.

"Yeah. But it scared me, not the fact that Harmony had minions, but Dawn could have gotten seriously hurt", she answered with hushed tone, looking around herself to make sure she was alone. "I know, but she's okay, right?" Angel assured her and then remembered something else she had said. "Harmony had minions?" he asked chuckling and drew a small giggle out of Buffy too.

"Yeah, that was my reaction too. Till Xander told me Dawn had invited her in." "Well, she's young, I doubt she'll make the same mistake again", he started and could hear the irritated breath she drew. "I'm not making excuses for her, it was a thoughtless thing to do and she should know better but she's still learning. She hasn't really known about vampires and demons more than few years." Buffy sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

"I know, but she needs to think before she acts, she could have gotten really hurt, Anya was hurt because of the slip and she got lucky that it wasn't that bad. But let's not talk about it anymore, I want to forget it. So how has your weekend been going?" she changed the subject. "Nothing much, just the usual, waiting for the phone to ring and dusting the vamps", he answered little awkwardly, there was no way he was going to tell her that Cordelia had spent the night.

"The big city life", Buffy quipped cheekily. "Tell me about it. But I think Doyle is in trouble", he stated. "What kind of trouble?" Buffy asked, offering him her full attention and standing up from the couch.

"I don't know yet, he had a big bruise on his hand and it didn't come from badminton." "Badminton?" Buffy asked clueless and he could almost see the puzzled expression on her face.

"Never mind. I think I need to do a intervention", he said with a smile. "Okay, I'll let you intervene. I need to meet with the gang anyway. I love you and I'll see you tomorrow." "I love you too", he answered and they hung up.

Angel stood up and went to the apartment. "Hey Doyle. There's a big guy there to see you. I'll tell him you'll be right up", he said from the stairs keeping a close eye on Doyle's reaction. "Oh, that's great", Doyle said gritting his teeth and Angel returned back upstairs.

As soon as he was gone, Doyle turned and sprinted through the back door. Angel was waiting by another door as Doyle sprinted through it and almost collided into him. "You know it's not nice to trick people!" "You're going to tell me what's going on?" Angel replied giving Doyle his no-bullshit face.

.

Buffy, Dawn and Giles were in the Summers home living room, both of the girls eyes were locked with Giles. "You're buying the Magic Shop?" Buffy asked incredulously and Giles nodded. "Giles, are you sure?" she asked again.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked. "Well, aside from the fact that most magic shop owners in Sunnydale have the life expectancy of a Spinal Tap drummer, and, have you ever run a store before?" Buffy reminded him.

"I was a librarian for years. This is exactly the same, except people pay for the things they don't return. It'll give me focus, increase my resources. And it'll prevent you lot from trampling all over my flat at all hours", he said making Buffy smile at the last comment. "There may even be some space for you to train in the back when you are visiting Sunnydale", he added.

"Boy, you've really thought this through. How bored were you last year?" she asked cheekily. "I watched Passions with Spike. Let us never speak of it again", Giles said pointedly and Buffy burst into giggles, even Dawn had a hard time keeping straight face.

"Well, I must be off now", Giles said with a sigh and headed to the door, Buffy following him. "I'll see you later, we can do the reflex training thing", she said while opening the door for him. He took off his glasses, polishing them with a little smile. "Yes, the reflex training thing", he said and left.

Buffy closed the door and nearly collided into Dawn. "When am I going to LA?" she asked folding her arms in front of her. "Never", Buffy answered only half-serious.

.

"You don't even know who this demon is collecting for?" Angel questioned glancing at Doyle. "All right, look, here's how it works: I owe some people, other people owe me. I do a favor for some guy and the debt goes away. It's a system of checks and balances", Doyle explained. "And some of your checks didn't balance."

"Well, it'll work out. It just takes a little diplomacy, the kind of thing you're so good at, actually. Say, maybe you wouldn't mind taking a crack at it?" Doyle said getting hopeful. "We all have problems. It's a matter of priorities. And at the moment I've got a bigger one then you do", Angel said with a sigh.

"Bigger than a Kailiff demon?" Doyle questioned raising his eyebrows. "Much. I'm thinking you can help me with mine and maybe I can help you with yours. Checks and balances", Angel suggested. "I don't know, man. I mean, what's your problem, exactly? Because you know, vampire business is..." Doyle started uncertainly but was interrupted by Cordelia clearing her throat. The two men turned to look at her. She walked in with a big smile and gave them a small wave.

"Hi. I was just wondering if you had any linoleum glue... for if it started curling up all over." "I'll be there in a minute", Angel promised and gave an inaudible sigh. "Okay", Cordelia said as she turned around and left.

Angel watched her walk away and addressed to Doyle: "Find her an apartment and I'll deal with your demon." He turned to look at Doyle pointedly till he frowned remembering something else. "And Buffy doesn't need to know about this, not if you can't find Cordy an apartment before Buffy gets back. I don't think she will be all that understanding, and there is no way that she will let Cordy take over the bed again", Angel added frowning.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't think our Cordy will want to be in your bed after what you revealed this morning", Doyle said with a smirk. Angel just gave him a glare.

Angel walked into Doyle's apartment and looked around, carefully staying out of the way of the sunlight that was shining from under the curtains. Suddenly someone grabbed him from behind and threw him against the wall next to the door. Angel spun around and grabbed the demon, smashing him against the wall where he himself had been just moments earlier.

"My name is Angel, what's yours?" he asked. "Screw you", the demon growled and Angel smashed him against the wall again. "My name is Angel, what's yours?" he asked again and when there was no answer he smashed him once more against the wall. "Griff", the demon relented.

"Good start. Who do you work for?" "He never gave me his card", Griff answered and Angel threw him on the floor, bending his arm back. "I don't know his name, he gets his orders to me", Griff continued. "You can get a message back to him?" Angel asked and Griff nodded gingerly.

Angel pulled him to his feet, letting his face shift back to its human visage. "You're letting me go?" Griff asked a little surprised. "I'm letting you up. You were send to collect Doyle", Angel answered shortly.

"At first. But I'm not seeing any money, so now Doyle gets dead as a message to the others." "And your boss never gets his money. Pretty expensive message when you add in whatever he is paying you", Angel stated. "My fees are very competitive", Griff defended himself. "I can get Doyle to pay you the money. You have my guarantee", Angel promised.

"I saw what I saw, right? You're a vampire. How come you're helping some little demon half-breed?" Griff scoffed, taking cautious steps closer to Angel.

"It's a good offer. You should take it. On the other hand you're making me want to fight some more. You get lucky you might last ten minutes. Really lucky and you're unconscious for the last five", Angel threatened keeping his poker face perfect.

"You get Doyle to pay, and he's safe", Griff promised. "Thanks. Good meeting", Angel answered and let Griff walk past him, not turning his back to him.

.

Angel handed Doyle a cup of coffee, much to his disappointment it wasn't spiced with liquor. "How did you manage to get Cordy a place on a Saturday, it's beyond me", Angel said shaking his head and sat down to a chair.

"Well, I know a guy and the realtor was in a hurry, all she had to do was sign and the place is hers. You should have seen her, she was practically flyin', man. So what about my problem?" Doyle answered and sipped his coffee, making a face at the taste, he wasn't used to drinking just coffee.

"I promised you'd pay them back, it's the only way to get them off your back", Angel broke the news to him and Doyle jumped up from the chair he was sitting, nearly spilling his coffee all over himself.

"What?! I knew I should've handled it myself, where am I going to get the money, huh? You can't get blood out of stone, you know." "But they can out of you. There's a price on your head, if you don't get the money, they will make a warning out of you. They weren't looking for the money anymore, I just bought some extra time", Angel warned him and gave him a look that told he was serious. Doyle stopped pacing and looked at him, finally nodding.

"You're right. You probably saved my life as well. Thanks about that." Angel just nodded in acknowledgment.

"Can I ask you something?" at Doyle nod, he continued. "Why did you pick this kind of life?" Doyle spread his arms in surrender. "Why not this kind of life?" he questioned and at Angels pointed look, took a more serious root. "I guess, it's the kind of life that keeps your expectations from getting too high. Seems like you're the one to understand that."

"I do understand, but why would you choose this, I didn't really have all that much of a choice, but you do. What happened?" "Don't worry about it. Not everything is doom and gloom in Doyle City, there are bright spots. Like Cordelia for instance", Doyle said sitting down and taking a sip from his cooling coffee.

"When is the misses coming home?" he changed the subject as the mood was starting to get too heavy. "Tomorrow afternoon. Maybe we should give Cordy a visit, we could pick up Buffy from the bus station and then go to see Cordy", Angel suggested.

"Fine by me. Do you think a bottle of whiskey would be a nice housewarming present?"

.

Buffy stepped out the bus and immediately her eyes landed on Angels car and on Doyle who was leaning against the front door. A smile broke down to her face and she hurried to him.

"Your chariot awaits, madam", he joked and nodded towards the backseat. "Well, thank you, James", she answered and quickly put her suitcase to the trunk before climbing to the backseat where she found Angel huddled under a blanket.

"And what do we have here?" she asked with a smirk and peeked under the blanket. An arm grabbed her behind her neck and pulled her into a passionate kiss, they didn't even notice that Doyle had started the car.

"Missed me?" she asked with a smile playing on her lips as they broke the kiss. "You have no idea", he answered and pulled her into another kiss.

"Hey you two, don't break any laws under that blanket", Doyle commented from the front and earned a kick to his seat. "And no bullying the driver, we're almost there", he added. Buffy managed to pull away from Angel's lips long enough to glance out the window before she was pulled back down, his lips claiming hers.

"Where are we going? It doesn't look like we're going back to the apartment", she asked between the kisses. "Cordelia got a new apartment, we're dropping by", he answered and pressed a soft kiss to the side of her mouth, deciding to let her just breathe for a while.

"Cordy got a new apartment? I thought I was out of town just for a weekend", she commented, causing Angel smile. "She had some trouble with her old apartment. I even got her a housewarming present", he said and signed to the plant on the floor. "It's a cactus", he added helpfully and Buffy couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm.

"What are you two doing in there?" Doyle asked and Buffy again kicked the seat. Soon they reached their destination and Angel took a dash to the building away from sunlight. They gathered to Cordelia's apartment door and Doyle knocked. There seemed to be yelling inside the apartment and Buffy turned look at Angel in question but he just shrugged.

"Cordelia, you in there?" Doyle said through the door and it took some time till Cordelia opened the door, peeking out cautiously. "Housewarming present. Cactus", Angel said and handed the cactus to her. "Umm... Thanks. Oh Buffy... You're back", she said just noticing the third person. "Yes, I am", Buffy answered with a nod.

Doyle tried to step inside the apartment but Cordelia stopped him. "Look I'm still getting it just the way I want. Maybe in a day or two, okay?" she protested, trying to close the door but Doyle just walked in past her. "Come on, the place looks great. You worry too much. Don't know what you had against that chair though", he said looking around the room and seeing the broken chair on the floor. Cordelia frowned at him and then turned to Angel who was still standing outside the door with Buffy.

"Oh, that's right you can't come in", she stated but Angel just stepped in, Buffy following and closing the door behind. "I was just being polite", Angel stated.

"Wait! What about the rule?" Cordelia asked loudly. "You said when you got a place I was completely invited over", Angel explained. "What? I didn't even have a place then. These rules are getting all screwed up, there should be a book or something!" she said and then saw Doyle pulling the curtain cord that had been just minutes earlier wrapping itself around her.

"Don't touch that!" she yelled at him but he just let the curtain fall over the window and looked at Cordelia like she had lost her mind. "I'm just closing these so our boss doesn't burst into flames, if that's all right with you? I doubt our Buffy here would appreciate if Angel was small enough to fit into an ashtray", he explained and Cordelia just nodded, watching around herself warily.

"This is a great apartment, much better than the old one", Buffy commented "I know. And anything is better than the old one", Cordelia answered in her normal blunt tone.

"How about giving us a tour?" Angel suggested and Cordelia looked at him with wide eyes before signaling to different directions. "Kitchen, living room, bedroom and I'm gonna knock down that wall." A pair of scissors flew across the room but Cordelia caught them from air and feeling something, Buffy spun around ready to catch something coming towards but only saw Cordelia opening a drawer. She looked around warily, the apartment was giving her the creeps, not that she would tell that to Cordelia.

"How about some lunch? There's this great place just across the street", Cordelia started when a trophy flew down from the mantel at Doyle's neck but Angel caught it before impact. "That's been doing that the whole time. It's probably a crooked mantel or something", Cordelia tried to cover but the others didn't seem to be buying it.

"That thing lunged at me!" Doyle cried out. "What's really going on?" Angel asked. "I had the same question in mind. My slayer senses are going all wonky in here", Buffy said glancing around herself.

"It's just a bad trophy", Cordelia tried but was interrupted by a haunting wail. "Sweet mother..." Doyle started to say when blood started dripping from the wall, spelling a word 'die'. The three went to Cordelia and grabbed a hold of her, trying to drag her to the door.

"I'm not giving up this apartment!" she protested desperately. "It's haunted", Angel said. "And the walls say die", Doyle added. "But it's perfect. It's rent controlled. And it's so me! I'm not letting go of it!"

"Cordy, it says 'Die', written in blood", Doyle said pointedly, looking into her eyes as to get through to her. "It could say diet, it's friendly, judgmental but friendly", Cordelia tried desperately. "It's beautiful! It's perfect! I need this!" she kept going, stomping her foot to the ground.

"You don't need this, you're going to find another apartment. It's just a place. You're better than this", Angel tried. "How am I better?" No one seemed to have the answer so Doyle decided to step in.

"We could cleanse it. Try and put the ghost to rest", he suggested, lifting his eyebrows. "Could we?" Cordelia asked hopefully like a child to a father. "We'll figure that out in the office, but now we have to go, okay", Buffy stepped in, talking to her like to a child that needed convincing.

"Okay", Cordelia amended, glancing around at her apartment as the others dragged her towards the door. "Listen good, Casper, you haven't won a thing here! I'll die before I give up the apartment, you hear me? I'll die!" she yelled to the apartment as the others had to force her through the door, Buffy finally slamming it shut after them.

.

Doyle worked on the computer, trying to find information on deaths in Cordelia's apartment while Angel tried to make her calm down and Buffy took her suitcase downstairs. She looked around herself and noticed the rise in the vinyl floor, it had been glued back on but it was still noticeable. Somehow she had a feeling that it had something to do with Cordelia but she shook the thought out of her head, she wasn't going to think about it right now, she had more important things to think about.

She threw the suitcase on the bedroom corner and returned upstairs, just in time to hear Doyle say he had found something. They gathered around the computer.

"First person to ever live in your place, Mrs. Maude Pearson", Doyle clarified. "How did you get that?" Angel asked, looking at the article. "Name carved over the entrance of the building: Pearson Arms. I checked the obits for Pearson, we got lucky. Turns out Maude Pearson built the place and took a unit there, too. And in 1946 she dropped dead of a heart attack in Cordelia's living room at age of 57."

"That's it! That's her", Cordelia said pointing at the screen. "Are you sure?" Buffy asked. "It's not a violent death, I mean, ghosts usually..." Angel added but Cordelia interrupted him.

"It's her, I know it. That place has that weird little old lady smell, like violets and aspercreme. This is easy. Little old lady ghost, probably hanging around because she thinks she left the iron on. Let's get a nice cleansing spell and get rid of her!"

"Well, this is not an easy spell. I mean, hawthorn berries and lungwort and bile. I don't know if we can get everything.", Angel said reading the list of ingredients they were going to need for the spell. "Hope we had Willow here, she is a real witch in these things, and I mean it literally", Buffy commented, also reading the list and crunching her nose in disgust.

"I can find them. I know this guy in Koreatown, he does these spells all the time so I can get the stuff form him." "Oh, goody! Another one of Doyle's guys. Tell me, is this the same guy that help me find my poltergeist-delicious apartment?" Cordelia commented cattily.

"At least the poltergeist wasn't our fault this time", Buffy muttered and Angel gave her a small shove, remembering full well how the poltergeist in the frathouse got started.

"Doyle, go. Get what you need", Angel said to Doyle and he grabbed the list before heading out. "I'm gonna try and get some more information, maybe Kate can find something. You wait here", he said to Cordelia and headed to the door.

"Little old lady ghost. How come Patrick Swayze is never dead when you need him?" Cordelia muttered and Buffy gave her a sympathetic smile. "I'm gonna go with him. Are you gonna be alright by yourself?" she asked ready to stay if needed, even though she was itching to leave before Angel managed to.

"I'll be fine. The sooner the ghost lady is out of my apartment, the better", Cordelia answered and with a grateful nod, Buffy headed out, managing to catch Angel before he got to the car.

"What are you doing?" Angel asked as he saw Buffy getting into the car with him. "I'm coming with." "What about Cordelia?"

"She said she'll be okay. And the ghost has secluded her haunting to the apartment", Buffy explained and put on the seatbelt, she felt that she didn't need it cause she trusted his driving but it always eased his mind and no matter how good driver he was, it didn't mean that some idiot couldn't cause an accident.

"I don't trust Kate. First of all, she has pointed a gun at me and that always drops several points in my book and she has a thing for you", she added making Angel chuckle. "She doesn't have a thing for me", he protested but Buffy just shook her head.

"Come on, she so does. I've seen the lost puppy eyes she's been sending your way and I've only seen her with you few times." Angel smiled triumphantly. "Why, miss Summers, are you jealous?" he asked enjoying the situation all too much and Buffy couldn't help but roll her eyes.

.

Buffy and Angel went to the police station and found out about the Maude Pearson case from Kate. It seemed like Maude's son, Dennis had caused his mothers death and that's why she had stayed in the house. Kate hadn't been very happy about Buffy showing up to the station and she had almost succeeded in not showing it, almost.

Buffy looked at Kate's office once more as she waited Angel to quit his phone call back to the office. Angel turned to look at Buffy as he waited for an answer, she didn't look happy, she was almost pouting and an involuntary smile rose to his lips.

"Aah... Angel investigations... We hope you're hopeless... I mean..." Doyle's voice answered to the phone. "Doyle, it's me. Could you put Cordelia on the phone?" Angel interrupted him.

"She's not here. Wait a minute, there's a message on the machine", Doyle said and played the message on the answering machine. Angel could hear his own voice on the other end and from his brooding looks, Buffy too was alarmed.

"What is it?" she mouthed and Angel returned with mouthing: "Bad." "That's not me", he stated as the message ended. "Take the ingredients and wait at the door, we'll be right there", Angel said and hung up.

"What was it?" she asked as they headed to the car clearly in a hurry. "Cordelia went back to the apartment", he answered.

.

Angel, Buffy and Doyle burst through the apartment door and first their eyes landed on the limp body Cordelia, hanging from a cable wire. Angel quickly ran to her, lifting her up and down from the noose. He placed her down to the sofa and she started to cough while trying to breathe.

"The furniture and... and the wall and the blood, she's doing it.. she is doing it all... She'll be back. She's stronger than us. And she knows me", Cordelia cried near hysterical.

"We can stop her", Buffy tried to calm her down, taking hold of her hand and giving it a light squeeze. "No, we can't stop her. She's too strong. We can't stop her", Cordelia cried and Buffy looked at Angel for help, a bitchy Cordelia she could handle but she didn't know what to do with the hysterically crying one.

"She's made a connection with you. She thinks you're someone she blames for her murder. Cordelia, answer me", he said to her. "I... I'm... I'm taking her son away. She thinks I'm taking her son", she managed through her cries.

"That's good. Her son was the one that killed her. All right, you're playing a role in her delusion, that gives you power. You're the one that can stop her", Angel said to her and then turned to Doyle. "Start the binding circle, I'll find the spell." He got up from the floor and started leafing through the book.

"We're gonna make it through this. Listen to me, Cordy, this isn't the worst situation we've been in. We have to fight it", Buffy said to Cordelia, forcing her to look at her but she just shook her head in disbelief and cried harder.

"Bring the truth into the light. Let the villain be reveal that a soul can take its rightful place for eternity", Angel read from the book as different object flew around the room. "She knows what we're doing", Doyle warned noticing the larger things that were flying around.

"We need Cordelia now", Angel said and looked at the whimpering girl on the floor. "Cordy, get up!" Doyle yelled at her but she didn't move. "Cordelia, stand in the circle and strike at its center", Angel said in the middle of his reading the spell in Latin.

"The ghost is in contact with you, she's given you that", Angel tried to explain and keep reading the book. Buffy grabbed Cordelia by her shoulders and forced her to look at her.

"Cordy! You need to stand up and go into that damn circle! Are you going to let some old ghost do this to you!? You're Cordelia Chase! You're queen C, damn it! Now pull yourself together!" she yelled at Cordelia and pulled her to her feet, guiding her to the circle. Cordelia just kept on crying and the storm inside the apartment seemed to increase.

"This isn't working!" Angel yelled over the wind. "And it's getting dodgy in here", Doyle added. "We need to get her out of here. It isn't safe in here." They headed to the door when it flew open and there was three guns pointed at them by Griff, another kailiff demon and what looked like a human.

"No one is going anywhere", Griff stated. "Guns, why does it have to be guns? Don't you have any respect for traditional weapons", Buffy muttered under her breath, it was no secret she hated guns.

"I thought you were going to let him pay", Angel stated looking at the guns held in front of him, he wasn't all that keen on them either. "I lied", Griff answered and then glanced at Buffy more thoroughly.

"You are full of surprises, vampire. First helping a half-breed and now working with the slayer", Griff added shaking his head. "You know who I am?" Buffy asked in surprise. "Word gets around", Griff stated calmly while the human was getting nervous.

"What is going on here?" he asked watching as the items flew around in the wind. "Ignore it, it's just a ghost", Griff said not taking his eyes off of Angel. As the human started shooting at the ghost, Doyle tackled Cordelia down to the ground away from the bullets way. Angel used the opportunity to grab Griff's gunhand and hit him hard, throwing him against the wall as the human ran away. The other demon grabbed Doyle and pulled him to his feet while pointing the gun at him.

"Look, I've got the money", Doyle tried to stall as Angel was beating up Griff. Buffy glanced after him but Doyle seemed to be the one needing more help, Angel could handle himself. She tried to sneak up on the demon, but she dropped down to the floor as Angel warned about knives. Doyle ducked and the large butcher knives impeded themselves on the demons chest.

Griff grabbed Angel, throwing him over a chair to the floor and jumping after him himself. Doyle jumped into his back and Griff backed into a wall, slamming Doyle against it. As soon as Doyle had slipped down to the floor, Buffy kicked Griff, sending him staggering across the room. He fell down to the floor and tried to grab a gun that was laying on the floor but Buffy kicked it away from him before kicking him to his chin. Angel pulled him up from the floor and snapped his neck, letting the body fall down to the ground.

They had barely time to breathe when Cordelia stepped out of her bedroom where she had been thrown by the ghost during the fight. "You okay?" Buffy asked and Cordelia just nodded in answer. "What happened?" Angel asked concerned but still relieved. "She pissed me off", she answered. "Or found her center", he suggested and Cordelia eyes turned foggy.

"Cordelia?" Doyle asked in alarm but she didn't seem to be listening. She grabbed a lamp and with a war cry, started to hit the wall repeatedly till it started to crumple and showed a skeleton with robes around it. A white light surrounded the skeleton before snaking out and sending a bright light across the room. "I guess you don't see that every day... Unless you happen to be us", Buffy stated.

.

Buffy walked into the office, acknowledging Cordelia with a nod, she headed out to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup. She sat to the chair in front of the desk and just sipped the coffee.

"So, you didn't tell us how the vamp hunt went in Sunnyhell, were you a good little slayer and dust the baddies?" Cordelia asked, it was good to know the whimpering Cordelia was gone. "Yeah, too bad Harmony got away", Buffy answered and took another sip.

"Harmony?" Cordelia asked scrunching her face in confusion. "She's a vampire, didn't you know?" Cordelia just shook her head, looking surprised.

"Yeah, she's been on and off with Spike and now she has decided to be the new big bad. She even had minions", Buffy explained and burst into giggles, she still couldn't even think about Harmony having minions without cracking up. But Cordelia didn't seem to see the funny side of it.

"What's so funny?" she asked. "Come on, Harmony having minions", Buffy said through her laugher, nearly in tears. "If you were a vamp, I'd understand. But Harmony", she barely finished and Cordelia smiled, seeing her point.

But soon Buffy turned more serious. "She may not be a major threat but she's still a vampire and she kidnapped Dawn", she stated and again Cordelia looked at her not understanding but let it pass, not caring enough to ask.

"Why did you come here the other night? I would have thought you'd gone to stay with Doyle or something", Buffy started, not knowing how to get out what she really wanted to ask.

"He didn't answer his phone", Cordelia answered not caring about the topic but then seemed to understand the undertone. "You think that I... Oh come on! I'm so over him. And the not breathing thing, such a turn off. Sure its good for you, you're already a freak", she started and as Buffy raised an questioning eyebrow at her, she added: "You know what I mean." Buffy gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, I think I do", she answered and got up. She placed the empty coffee cup next to the coffee maker and went downstairs. She grabbed her school bag but seeing the bedroom door slightly ajar, she couldn't avoid the temptation, she threw her bag back to the couch and sneaked into the bedroom finding a sleeping Angel.

"I know you're pretending", she whispered into his ear and a grin formed to his lips. He rolled to his back and pulled her into a thorough kiss. As he pulled back, she looked at him seriously, even though the kiss made her want to smile as brightly as she could.

"We need to talk. Well, not now since I have class but once I get back, we will talk. I know Cordelia stayed over here the other night and I'm not mad, I know when she decides something, you have no choice but to hang on. But you should have told me, we can't keep secrets, even about the little things", she said and he nodded, shifting his gaze off of her. She grabbed his chin and forced him to look her in the face.

"This is not a brood-worthy talk, so don't even think about it. But we will have that talk...", she said glancing at the clock, adding: "... later. My first class is with professor Clift, wish me luck", she said and he smiled, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Good luck", he whispered and now she surrendered to the urge to smile brightly. She flashed him her smile and sending a flying kiss from the door, she left.

As he heard the footsteps getting further away, he sighed deeply, he knew keeping Cordelia's sleepover as a secret was a bad idea but he was still learning, for over 250 years he had never been in a relationship, not when he was alive and not when he was a vampire, not until Buffy, since what he had with Darla didn't exactly qualify as a relationship. The relationship talk was ahead and he had the urge to brood about it but managed to suppress it, barely. Maybe the honeymoon phase was over and the reality was starting to set in. But the he remembered the reunion they had just twelve hours earlier and they definitely weren't over the honeymoon phase. With a smirk he got up from the bed, if he didn't soon get upstairs, Cordelia would probably come and get her and he really didn't need that. But his mood was already better.

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To be continued...


	5. Dinner plans

**A/N: **I'm gonna sound like a broken record but thank you to all readers and special thanks to those who have reviewed.

**A/N2:** Some of the dialog is from Angel episode Bachelor Party.

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Chapter 5: Dinner Plans

Doyle was pacing the office while Angel and Buffy were calmly sitting by the desk, Angel reading a book and Buffy doing her essay for her psych class. He turned to the couple, looking agitated.

"So that's it, that's your idea of a evening well spent, doing homework?" he questioned, looking at both of them in turns but he was ignored. "Come on, our college girl can do her homework on her own, how'bout we guys go out, huh? I've got two beautiful words for you: Sports bar." Angel just gave him a look and kept reading.

"Come on, man! That book was written when you had a pulse, it's not like you haven't had the time to read it already. I need something to do. Anything! I can't just sit around while..." he said desperately but stopped when Cordelia walked into the room, dressed to go out.

"While I steal into the night with my incredibly 'more-wealthy-then-you' prince? Makes your little life seem a tad drab, doesn't it?" she stated and the two men turned to look at her while Buffy just tuned her out.

"But just because he has money doesn't mean he will make you happy", Doyle said but Cordelia just shook her head like he was a ignorant fool. "I'll let you know that Pierce has a lot more than money. He has a house in Montecito, he has a Mercedes CLK 320 and a place in the hills with a lap pool." "Since you put it that way", Doyle said sarcastically and even Buffy turned to look at the couple, it should be entertaining. But she didn't get a retaliation when a knock on the door interrupted them.

"Well, if I don't come to work tomorrow, you can clear out my desk cause I have moved up", Cordelia said before she hurried to the door. The others glanced at each other before following her to the front hall. Her date walked in, clearly appreciating the view and telling her so. As she was ready to drag him out of the door, Angel cleared his throat.

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend", he said in fatherly tone. Buffy had to suppress a smile after hearing it and seeing the annoyed look on Cordelia's face.

"Pierce, Buffy, Angel, Doyle. Let's go", she said signaling at the people while saying their name and grabbing a hold of Pierce's arm, ready to drag him away.

"Do you work, Pierce?" Angel asked stopping them from leaving and earning another glare at his way. "I trade, futures and options market", Pierce answered.

"So where you going to dinner?" Buffy asked with a small grin and Cordelia glared at her too. "Le Petite Renard", Pierce answered. "Ah, right. Nice spot. Duck is dry", Doyle shot.

"As nice as this is, we have to get going", Cordelia said and practically dragged Pierce out of the door. "She's not going to fall for my ample, but unpretentious charms, is she?" Doyle said glumly as they went back to the office. "Not unless unpretentious means you don't like to brag about your family's old money", Angel stated.

"Well, I think you still have that tiny shot with her. He may be cute and filthy rich but I think she's starting to grow up, as much as it weirds me out to say", Buffy comforted Doyle, crunching her face as she said Cordelia was growing up, something she never believed to happen. Angel turned to Buffy, his brows furrowing into a deep frown. "You think he's cute?" Buffy giggled at his expression.

"Hey, focus people, we were talking about my problem here, how am I going to steal sweet Cordelia's heart with my charming personality since I don't have that money part. Not to mention that half of my family are demons, something I doubt she will appreciate." Buffy sat next to him and patted his shoulder with a comforting smile.

"Cheer up, brooding doesn't become you", she said with a little smirk. "I'm not brooding. That's his j..." he started to say pointing his finger at Angel but a vision hit him with full force, his face furrowed in pain and he doubled over, nearly falling off the couch. Buffy grabbed a hold of his shoulders to prevent him from falling. For a moment he steadied his breathe and turned to look at Angel.

"A young guy. In a vampire's nest in downtown and he's going to be the main course of the evening." "Well, you wanted some action", Angel stated but his attention drifted to Buffy who grabbed her jacket from a nearby chair.

"You're not coming", he said and Buffy looked at him like he had said something in strange language.

"Hello, the slayer. I'm coming", she said defiantly, almost challenging him with her eyes. When Angel wisely didn't say anything, she left the room to get her weapons.

"Man, you're whipped", Doyle smirked but truth be told, he wouldn't have contradicted the girl either, he was getting some serious slayer vibes from her.

"You try say no to her when she gives you that look", Angel defended himself, folding his arms to his chest and Doyle lifted his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm half demon, when a slayer gives me the look, I'm not going to contradict her, I like my face just the way it is, thank you."

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Angel, Buffy and Doyle went to the nest, finding a small group of vampires and a frightened guy hanging in the middle of the room. The fight was short but brutal. Buffy grabbed Angels ax and broke the chains that were holding the man. Angel caught him before he fell and they went out the door.

"Doyle, when you're in your demon form, you're stronger, right?" Angel started and continued at Doyle's nod of confirmation. "Then why do you shake it off?"

"I don't like fighting that way", Doyle answered shrugging his shoulders. "This isn't a spelling bee. Nobody expects you to fight fairly." "It's just not my style. So, you guys need me to get this guy home?" Doyle changed the subject, glancing at the badly beaten guy leaning heavily into Angel's support. "You can go, I think Buffy and I will manage", Angel assured him and they parted ways.

Buffy and Angel helped the guy into the car and started driving. "So, where can we drop you?" Buffy asked twisting in her seat to look back.

"I live in one of the UCLA dorm houses", he answered. "No kidding, that's where I go, well I don't live there but I study there", Buffy answered.

"And on your spare time you save people from..." he started not knowing how to finish, there was no such things as vampire's. "Gang on PCP if you want to go with the official report", Buffy said helpfully, getting a grin from Angel and a disbelieving look from the guy.

They dropped him off to his dorm room and started walking back to the car. At the main door they nearly ran into someone. "Sorry", the girl said automatically and then raised her gaze to the people she had almost ran over. Her eyes widened in recognition.

"Buffy?" she asked hesitantly causing Buffy to look at her more thoroughly. "Melissa", she said with a small uncertain smile, she hadn't seen the girl in years, she had been the only on to still acknowledge her at school after she had been abandoned by all her other friends.

"Wow. What are you doing here?" Melissa asked awed by running into her. "I actually go here. Everybody seems to be going here, I ran into September and her flock a while back." Melissa nodded her head knowingly.

"Yeah, she hasn't changed much has she, except for the plastic surgery that daddy paid for." Angel shifted on his feet and by doing that drawing Buffy's attention back to him. Buffy looked between Angel and Melissa and gave a embarrassed smile.

"Sorry, I didn't introduce you two. This is Melissa Braddock, we went to high school together, Melissa, this is Angel, my boyfriend." "Hi, nice to meet you", Melissa said extending her hand. Angel shook her hand nodding his head in acknowledgment. "You too."

"So, you go here too?" she asked but he shook his head, feeling uncomfortable. Buffy noticed that and gave his hand a light squeeze. "No, he has a detective agency", she stated. "Oh, that's interesting", Melissa stated with a smile.

"It was great meeting you, but we have to go, I still have a psych paper to finish. But maybe we could have coffee or something tomorrow... If you want?" Buffy said testing the ice and Melissa gave her a wide smile.

"That would be great. How about we meet in front of the cafeteria on lunch?" "Yeah. I'll see you then. Bye!" Buffy said with a relived smile and gave a wave of goodbye before leaving with Angel.

"So you knew her in high school? I gathered that she didn't belong to the group you met back in that club", Angel stated while they were walking to the car.

"Well, she was more or less. After I became the social reject at my school, she was the only one that would acknowledge I existed", Buffy answered and a frown rose to her face, those times weren't happy memories, even Cordelia the Queen C was a Mother Teresa compared to September and her group back in high school.

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Angel sat behind his desk, trying to find some papers after Cordelia had "cleaned" his table. She was sitting on the chair in front of his desk and telling about her date even though in his opinion Buffy would be more likely person to talk about it.

"So, here I am at Le Petite Renard with Mr. Armani, who could keep me in blue boxes for the rest of my life..." she said waving her hands vividly.

"Blue boxes?" Angel asked, lifting his gaze from his desk. "Tiffany's!" she shouted like it was obvious. "God! Hasn't Buffy taught you anything!" she added and continued like there hadn't been a leap from the original topic.

"And the whole night I was bored silly. All I could think about was, if this wimp ever saw a monster he'd probably throw a shoe at it and run like a weasel. Turns out the shoe part was giving him to much credit" Her face scrunched into a frown and she gave a exhausted sigh.

"There aren't very many people that wouldn't run. It's just human nature", Angel tried to reason giving her a sympathetic look.

"Yeah, but all of a sudden rich and handsome isn't enough for me. Now I expect a guy to be all brave and interesting. And it's your fault!" she said pointing her finger at him. "Maybe you're just changing, becoming more mature. That could be a good thing."

"Disastrous, that's what it is. And as if I wasn't confused enough, then Doyle comes along and rescues me like some..." she paused trying to get the right word out. "...badly dressed superhero. He was really beat up, but you know the first thing he asked?" she again paused, a small smile playing on her lips. "Are you okay? He got a good beating by a burly, ugly vamp and the first thing he asks is if I'm okay. I mean, that's like... substance, right?"

"Yeah, well, there is definitely more to Doyle then meets the eye", he stated.

"So, now I've got to kill myself. I swore when I went that road with Xander Harris, I'd rather be dead then date a fixer-upper again. Still, maybe you're right. Maybe Doyle does have some hidden depths. I mean, really, really hidden. But depths. And I'm gonna have to buy him a moccachino to thank him for saving my life, don't you think?" she said thoughtfully and Angel opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything, she was on her feet and going towards the door.

"Me, too. We'll be back in a half. You watch the phones, okay?" she said and was gone. Angel sighed deeply and returned looking for the papers. Finally he gave up, he wasn't going to find the papers until he asked Cordelia where she had put them, if she knew either. He just decided to take the bull by the horns and go and ask her. He got up from his chair and went to the lobby where he found Cordelia and Doyle with a unknown woman.

"Cordelia..." he started but was interrupted by her. "Angel, come and meet Doyle's wife", Cordelia said with a fake smile nodding her head to the woman.

"Nice to meet you", Angel said and shook hands with the woman. When Doyle's wife's, Harry's, new husband-to-be walked into the office, Angel thought it was best to let them talk in private and the perfect time to ask Cordelia where she hid the papers.

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Buffy sighed deeply, finally the class was over. The professors monotone voice was sending her to sleep and it happened to be one of those class' you couldn't just nod off and know where you were going, since the professor had a annoying habbit of making the students write page after page of the stuff he wrote on the chalkboard. Even worse was that not all the things were on the books and he had warned they were going to be on the test. Life was cruel and briefly Buffy thought of dropping out but then the thought was dropped, there was no way she was going to spend her days with Cordelia. They got along just fine these days but too much was just too much, she had her limits.

She stopped as she saw the missing person fliers on the wall, there were at least four of them and all of them were girls. Since there was more copies on the opposite wall, she didn't feel guilty of taking one of each off the wall and hiding them into her bag, she would look more into it once she got back to the office.

"Professor Clift asked me to a private tutoring this evening at his place. And we all know what that means", Buffy heard September's voice say and laugh triumphantly. "I know he's like old but he's still good looking. And it's gonna do wonders for my grades", she continued and Buffy noticed as September and her followers were walking by her, that she cast a disapproving look at her way.

"God, look at that outfit! Where does she shop, Salvation army for retards", September sniped and the flock giggled. Buffy just let the insult roll over her, she wasn't going to let them get to her, and she almost broke into a smile as she thought what Cordelia would have done to them since it was her who had chosen the outfit.

She had been having her morning coffee when Cordelia had strode into the office and said that Buffy couldn't go to UCLA dressed like that because she was someone Cordelia Chase knew and it was her job as a humanitarian to prevent it. And just to make sure Buffy wouldn't leave in a pair of jeans and black tank top, she had spilled her coffee allover her clothes, leading to Cordelia rummaging through Buffy's closet and picking her outfit. Buffy sighed and headed to meet Melissa.

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Buffy walked into the office but only saw Cordelia. She dropped her bag on a chair and acknowledged her with a 'hey' but Cordelia wasn't in the mood for pleasantries.

"Did you know Doyle was married?!" she asked loudly jumping from behind the desk. All Buffy could do was look at her dumbly. "What? Doyle is married? To who?" "Some Harry-girl, she popped in with her new husband-to-be with the divorce papers", Cordelia explained and walked around the desk, leaning against it and folding her arms on her chest.

"Wow. Where is he? And Angel?" Buffy asked a little surprised by the revelation, she just hoped Doyle hadn't whisked Angel away to a drinking binge, she still needed help investigating the missing girl.

"Brooding in the apartment, possibly drinking each other under the table. He looked a little upset when she gave him the papers", Cordelia answered, starting with her usual flippant manner but ending up with a sympathetic tone. "I knew this was going to happen. A guy saves my life, of course there's something wrong with him, like he's married", she continued with a frustrated sigh.

"I guess there's no need to ask how your date went?" "It went. Slowly. When he finally gave me a ride back here, a vamp attacked me and he ran with tires squealing and get this, it was Doyle who saved me. Can you believe it!?"

"Believe it or not, I can. Doyle is a good guy", Buffy answered nodding. "Yeah well, now I have to kill my self. I was going to look through my fingers all his faults like that he has no style but now he's married, it's like Xander Harris all over again", Cordelia said with a huff. "Cordy, it's not like with Xander", she started but quieted as Angel and Doyle walked through the apartment door.

"I'll look into it after sundown", Angel promised to Doyle and then noticed Buffy. "Hey", he said and earned a smile from her. "Hey yourself", she answered walking to him and stealing a quick kiss before turning to Doyle.

"Doyle, you wouldn't mind lending me those computer skills of yours, would you?" "What? You need to hack into the school files to change your grades, or what?" he asked with a smirk, making Buffy roll her eyes.

"Funny. It's business, missing girls", she answered and dug into her bag, pulling out the fliers. Angel looked at them over her shoulder, his arm instinctively wrapping around her waist. "They all disappeared in three weeks period", he stated and Buffy just nodded.

"Well, I'll look into it while Angel does his other thing", Doyle promised and took the fliers from Buffy, looking through them as he went to the computer. "What thing?" Buffy asked turning to Angel, speaking quiet enough so Cordelia wouldn't hear.

"I take it that Cordy has already filled you in with what happened", Angel said and at Buffy's nod, continued. "Doyle asked me to check this guy his ex is going to marry." "Okay, you better not tell Cordy, she'll want to charge him", Buffy said with a lopsided grin, bringing a smile to his lips cause it was the same thing he had said to Doyle just some moments ago.

"Okay, I've got something", Doyle hollered from the computer and others went to look. "Mary-Anne Nelson, disappeared exactly three weeks ago today, B-student studying psychology at UCLA, roommate reported missing as she went out to meet a guy and didn't come back, she didn't tell who the guy was. Caryn Peterson, also a student at UCLA, psychology as her major and went to meet a new boyfriend but didn't come back, friends reported since she never missed a class. Lorraine Garcia, same thing except she was studying journalism, mother reported her. And a fellow Irishman, Karen O'Connell, an exchange student from Dublin", Doyle informed them.

"I remember her from psych", Buffy stated sadly and looked at the picture on the computer. Angel wrapped his arm around her and pressed a comforting kiss to her cheek.

"So, what do these girls have in common?" Doyle asked, swinging in his chair to look at the others. "Well, for starters they're all girls, and pretty", Buffy stated. "And went out with a guy nobody knew anything about", Angel continued. "Yeah, and all except this Lorraine-girl had psych", Cordelia added not really paying attention to the others.

"Yeah, I need to ask around. Cordy, how would you feel about going to a frat party with me?" she asked turning to Cordelia.

"The last time I went to a party with you, I was almost eaten by a giant snake", Cordelia accused but the others could see that she was considering the question.

"I doubt there will be any snakes in the basement, and as long as you don't take any drinks from anyone, I think we should be okay." Cordelia sent a glare at Buffy while Angel frowned. "You're going to a frat party?"

"Yeah, but just to talk to people, find out if anyone knows anything about the missing girls", she explained but Angel still didn't like it. "I don't like you going there alone", he protested, guiding her away from extra ears.

"I'm not going alone, I'm going with Cordelia. And don't you have a boyfriend to follow?" Angel glanced outside, the sun was setting. "I still don't like it", he reminded her like a little child, only the pout was missing. "I know, but I promise to be careful. And I'm the slayer, remember, I can take care of myself", she assured him with a smile before giving him a brief kiss.

.

It was already nearly three am when Buffy came back home, she hadn't got much information on the missing girls but it wasn't from the lack of effort. Considering it was a weekday, the party had been mild even though it was a huge change to Sunnydale.

She walked into the bedroom, finding Angel laying on the bed, reading a book by the bedside lamp. "Hey", she said and yawned. Angel set the book to the table and turned to look at her. "Hey." Buffy shed her clothes off and slipped into one of his old shirts before she crawled into the bed and wrapped her arms around his chest.

"How was your night of stalking?" she asked yawning again, she was just glad to be home, she had been bored silly at the party but she had been determent to find the cause to the missing girls and Cordelia had insisted they'd stay a moment longer, soon the moment had stretched into three hours. Well, at least someone was enjoying herself.

"Richard, Harry's guy is a demon", Angel started. "No kidding." Angel nodded his head and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before continuing. "Yeah, an ano-movic demon, they gave up the violence in the turn of the century and we're getting a bill for a window."

"A window? What?" Buffy asked confused, lifting her head enough from his chest to look at his face.

"Well, Richard owns a restaurant and I sort of broke a window while thinking that he was attacking Harry and..." he tried to explain awkwardly but stopped as Buffy started giggling. "He had a knife", he defended himself and Buffy nodded her head as a sign she believed him but that didn't stop her from grinning at him.

"So how was your night?" he asked frowning, he hadn't done much actual reading while waiting for her to come home, many times he had to stop himself from crashing the party.

"Long, very long. But I managed to run into Caryn's friend, Alyson and got her talking. She said that Caryn revealed that the new boyfriend was a older guy and he didn't want anyone to know about their relationship yet, Alyson suspected that the guy had a wife or a girlfriend", she answered and Angel looked at her intently.

"But you don't think so", he stated and Buffy nodded. "I'm thinking it's a professor at the school." Again she yawned, barely able to keep her eyes open.

"Go to sleep", he whispered and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Reaching over to the night table, he turned off the light. "Goodnight, Angel", she mumbled against his chest and in few minutes she was fast asleep. "Goodnight, love", he whispered back but she didn't hear him anymore.

.

Buffy was like a sleepwalker as she made her way to the coffee maker, she had only got few good hours of sleep cause Angel had decided to get up before her and she only slept well when he was with her.

"You look terrible", Cordelia said ever so helpfully. "Thanks", Buffy said sardonically and started drinking the coffee, it was horrible, naturally since Cordelia made it but at least it was sure thing to wake her up.

"No problem", Cordelia answered carefree and walked into the lobby where Doyle had just signed the divorce papers. Buffy grimaced at the coffee and put the cup down before grabbing her bag and following Cordelia into the lobby. As soon as she saw a frighteningly familiar face and in a flash she was in fighting stance, her whole being screaming slayer. Richard stiffened and turned to look at the new addition to the room.

"Buffy, this is Doyle's ex, Harry and this is her fiancé, Richard, and this is Buffy, Angel's girlfriend", Cordelia introduced the two strangers, seeing that there could be a bloodbath any minute. "Nice to meet you", Buffy said and shook both of their hands, keeping an eye on Richard and getting same pleasantries back.

"Angel tells me you're a ano-movic demon", Buffy stated. "Yes, I am, does that make you uncomfortable, that I am a demon?" Richard answered giving her a polite smile.

"Not really. Does your human face come off or do you just slip into it like a vamp?" "My face doesn't come off, why do you ask?" Richard answered looking at her in question, everyone else wearing similar faces not knowing where she was going with her questions.

"Just happened to meet one hell dimension demon who looked identical to you." "Oh, I met him back in the 90's, well 1890's, I heard his portal here was closed", Richard answered, the realization dawning to him. "Yeah, I know", she answered dryly, finally letting her piercing gaze leave him and letting herself relax a little. She turned around and went to Angel.

"You have some explaining to do", he whispered to her. "Later", she whispered back and gave him a brief kiss. She gave him a quick smile and left.

Her first class was psych and as they settled on their seats, she noticed that September was absent. "I wonder where September is, I was going to return those Prada shoes she's been whining about, she knew I was bringing them today and there's no way she wouldn't come even sick for those", Buffy heard Marissa say to Jo, they were sitting two rows behind her. Buffy turned to look at professor Clift, she needed to talk to him but she had to wait till the class was over.

Buffy had trouble concentrating but finally the class was over and the students spilled out of the room. Buffy made her way to professor Clift who was packing his things away. "What is it, miss Summers?" he asked not looking at her.

"Just wondering why September didn't come to class today, I figured you might know since you were the last to see her to my knowledge", she answered looking intently at Clift, watching his reaction. He stopped his movements, but only for a second before continuing like nothing had happened.

"What makes you think I was the last person to see her?" he asked nonchalantly before lifting his piercing eyes to look at her. "Since you were tutoring her last night."

"And who said I was tutoring her, she doesn't need tutoring, she is a better student than you are and I don't give private lessons", he said with a tone that told her he wasn't going to discuss the matter any further.

"I must have misheard", she answered and left the classroom, even more suspicious than she had been moments earlier. Buffy went to the pay phones and dialed the office number.

"Angel investigations", Cordelia's cheerful voice started at the other end. "Hey, Cordy. Is Doyle there?" Buffy interrupted her, she had a limited amount of time before the next class. "Yeah, he's here. You want me to give him the phone?" Cordelia asked but was already yelling at Doyle for the phone before Buffy could answer. "Buffy?" she heard Doyle's voice from the phone.

"Hey. Could you look if Lorraine had psych? And who the professor was, if all the missing girls had the same one?" Buffy asked, she heard some tapping noises and few minutes later Doyle gave the answer.

"Yeah, they all had psychology and their professor was Alexander Clift." "I knew he was evil", Buffy muttered to herself and watched as Clift walked past her.

"Thanks Doyle", she said before hanging up and discreetly following Clift to the teachers lounge that was empty. She listened to the noises before opening the door enough for her to see into the room. Her eyes widened as professor Clift walked past a mirror that showed twisted features of nearly rotten face that had glowing green patches and tufts of hair around sharp spikes. She stepped back and quickly left the school, she doubted she would have any concentration if she went to the classes.

.

The office desk was filled with a pile of books and the team had been going through them to find a demon fitting to Buffy's description. "IU!" Cordelia yelped and threw her book to the table. "That's it, I'm done", she said and jumped up to her feet. The book had stayed open from another page and Buffy saw that there was a drawing of the demon she was looking for.

"That's the demon", she exclaimed and Angel picked up the book. "Gradokh demon", he started but was interrupted by Buffy. "I told you he was evil."

"The Gradokh demons possesses a human body and it needs to feed on young women to stay inside the host and in full power. Only mirrors show their true face", he told the others as he read the book.

"So how do we kill it?" Buffy asked, reading the text over his shoulder. "Beheading or cutting the heart out works, but it also kills the host. According to this, the host won't remember anything from the time he was under the demon influence. The only way of killing the demon without harming the host is with a enchanted dagger, you stab the demon into his heart with it and it jumps into the nearest mirror", he answered and frowned as he read the description for the spell.

"Is that a pair of ox's..." Buffy started to say as she read the list of ingredients too but stopped as Angel nodded. "You think you can get those?" Angel asked Doyle and gave him the list. Doyle nodded grinning and both Buffy and Cordelia just rolled their eyes at him. Doyle left the room and Angel turned to Buffy.

"Doyle asked me to accompany him to Richard's bachelor party." "Doyle is going to his ex's future husbands bachelor party?" Buffy asked incredulously. "Yeah, the family needs his blessing." "Wow, that must be really weird for him."

"You won't go after that demon by yourself. Promise me that, okay?" Angel asked glancing at the open book. Buffy just diverted her gaze away from him, looking guilty. "Okay?" Angel asked again.

"Buffy, those things are strong and they have poison in the spikes on their head, it paralyzes the victim", he reminded her with a sigh and slowly Buffy turned to look at him, finally nodding.

"Fine, I promise. I'll just patrol like a good little slayer but we're taking him down later", she finally said with a pout.

.

Doyle and Angel walked into the restaurant while Cordelia was at Harry's party and Buffy had gone out for a quick patrol. Richard approached them as soon as he noticed them.

"Hi, Francis", he greeted and pulled Doyle into a hug. "It's just Doyle", Doyle corrected him. "Sorry. Hey everyone, this is Doyle", Richard said, turning Doyle to greet everyone. Then he noticed Angel.

"Angel, what a surprise", he said shaking Angel's hand. "I thought I'd use the door this time", Angel said dryly.

"I asked him to come. Hope that's okay?" Doyle explained and Richard nodded absently. "Sure it is, the more the merrier. Now the party can really start, huh?" he said turning to the other people or demons on the room. "Everybody, this party is for Doyle as much as it is for me, more even. He's the real bachelor here."

"Thanks for not rubbing that in, by the way", Doyle said dryly. "Let's set you up with a beverage?" Richard suggested and guided Doyle to the bar. Angel started to follow them but his suspicions started to surface as he heard two demons talking in their language while looking at him. He glanced at their way, receiving two fake smiles that did nothing to ease his mind. Maybe he was just paranoid, at least he hoped he was.

.

Buffy staked her third vampire and slipping the stake back to her pants pocket, she wiped the dust off her clothes. She looked around her, noticing a shadow walking on the sidewalk and curiosity got the best of her, she sneaked closer. As the form passed a lamp, she could see his face, it was professor Clift.

She followed him till his house and she kept watching him from the window as he went to the basement. She circled the house till she found the tiny window to the basement, she dropped down to the ground to look inside and she saw a cage there but it was empty. She tried to look for other clues but there were none, just bunch of antique daggers. She cursed under her breathe for promising Angel that she wouldn't go after him alone. She looked through the living room window as she walked past it, all the mirrors were smashed into pieces. The rational part of her realized that it would do her no good to go just rushing in since she didn't have the dagger or any mirrors in one piece but still the emotional part of her wanted to go in the slim hope that one of the girls would be alive.

.

Angel walked to the bar where Doyle was sitting as the stripper was keeping Richard busy. "You okay?" he asked. "Yeah", Doyle answered staring at his drink before drinking it. Angel looked at his friend with concern but then he noticed that the two guys sneaked out of the room. He glanced at Doyle before following them through the kitchen to the second floor. At the end of the staircase he looked around himself, not seeing anybody but then he heard a voice. He quietly walked to the door and watched as Richard's father cut himself with a knife and let the blood drip to a small bowl as he spoke in his supposedly dead language. Angel's suspicions rose to another level. He went to a room which looked like an office, he grabbed the phone and dialed Cordelia's cellphone number.

"Hey, it's Angel. Where are you? -- Let me speak to Harry. -- How is your Aratuscan? -- Not so dead lately. I need a translation, 'Ino platbrata iko iko retvan el shak'. -- I don't know yet if it's anything. Will you just look into it for me? -- Thanks", he spoke to the phone and hung up. He turned around to leave but collided into the other guy he had been following.

"Hey, what's your problem?" he asked. "There's no problem", Angel answered and tried to walk past him but he stepped in front of him, poking him in the chest.

"Are you disrespecting me?" the guy accused. "No", Angel answered incredulously. "So now you're calling me a liar", the guy said and suddenly hit Angel in the face. He managed to get two punches on Angel before he retaliated, grabbing hold of his oncoming fist and hitting him back while twisting his arm down. The guy went stumbling down but three other guys showed up, two of them grabbing a hold of Angel and bending his arms back while the others attacked. Angel kicked the oncoming attackers to the ground but the other guy that was holding him, swept his legs from under him and once on the ground, they started kicking him. They grabbed him by his jacket and threw him against the wall before continuing with the brutal kicks to his sides and finally throwing him through a ventilation window.

Buffy arrived just in time to see Angel rolling down the roof and falling to the ground, a metal dumpster "softening" the fall. Buffy wanted nothing more than to run to him but she saw the men on the window and decided to wait till they were gone. At the second they drew off the window, she ran to Angel, dropping down to her knees next to him.

"Angel", she called out and groggily he rolled over to his back. "Buffy? What are you doing here?" he asked squinting his eyes and slowly sitting up. "I was going to crash the party so we can go and kill that demon since someone made me promise not to do it alone."

"The dagger isn't ready for another half an hour, the spell needs to emerge with it before it's of any use", he reminded her and slowly got to his feet with Buffy's help.

"What going on in there? Why were those guys testing if you could fly?" Buffy asked worriedly as they started walking around the building and towards the front doors.

"You know how it is when some have little too much liquor", he answered with his face morphing into demon form before he kicked the door open, breaking the hinges in the progress.

"The party is over", he announced. "You brought a vampire to my brothers bachelor party!" one of the guys accused incredulously.

"Hey, no girls is allowed in here", Richard said to Buffy with a large knife in his hands. Doyle was behind the crowd, stuck into a box with only his head in sight. A fight broke down, Angel was giving them a full payback for the beating from upstairs while Doyle was rolling around the floor with the box, till it collided into the bar and the lock snapped open. He jumped out the box and joined the fight, this time staying in his demon form.

The fight wasn't long but it was messy till Cordelia and Harry ran into the restaurant, Harry yelling for them to stop fighting. Everyone froze, with two guys on Angel's back and Buffy holding one in a tight arm lock.

"Honey bun? This is for guys only", Richard chastised, awkwardly climbing off the booth he had been thrown in. Everyone seemed to start relax and even Buffy let go of the guy she was holding in death grip.

"I know what you're up to Richard Howard Straley", Harry accused. "The stripper wasn't my idea, pook. I swear", Richard defended himself. "Not the stripper, Richard", Harry said angrily, then realized what he had said. "There was a stripper?!" "You really shouldn't be here", Richard chastised again.

"Well, you shouldn't be trying to eat my friend's brains! You horrible, ugly demon people!" Cordelia accused, then noticed Doyle in his demon form and grabbed a silver tray, starting to beat him with it. Angel ran across the room and stopped her from doing any more bodily harm to Doyle.

"Easy there, Cordelia. It's OK!", he said to her and she threw the tray away, noticing Doyle slowly climbing up to his feet after the beating. "Doyle! Oh, look what they did to you!" she exclaimed. Rolling her eyes, Buffy went to stand next to the others.

"I'm only going to ask you this once, Richard, and I expect a straight answer: were you or were you not intending to eat my ex-husband's brains?" "In a way", Richard answered sheepishly. "And when were you planning on telling me?"

"I thought maybe I wouldn't have to." "You were going to start out our life together with deceit?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Sort of missing the point, isn't she?" Doyle commented to Angel. Harry and Richard kept discussion their situation, Buffy didn't really pay attention, she just kept glancing at the clock.

"I should have told you. I'm sorry. But unless we complete the ritual my family will never consent to the marriage", Richard said to Harry, his family nodding their heads in confirmation. Harry looked at Doyle before taking hold of Richard's hand with a solemn look on her face. She handed the engagement ring to him and turned away.

"One word, Francis, just one word and I'll eat your brains", she warned as she walked past Doyle.

.

Cordelia took Doyle home while Buffy and Angel headed to Clift's house after dropping by the office and getting the dagger and a mirror. Buffy was about to kick down the door but Angel stopped him.

"Maybe we should look for a spare key", he suggested and slightly embarrassed, she nodded. He checked over the door frame but she found it under the welcome rug. The stepped in and searched the house, finally finding him in the basement, chanting while holding a dagger.

"He's not human", Clift stated, sniffing the air before turning around to look at the couple. "Well, you're not either. So I guess nobody's perfect", Buffy answered and walked down the stairs. She pulled out the dagger, his eyes drawing to it before they drifted to her face.

"I always knew there was something peculiar about you, miss Summers. I was going to ask you for little tutoring but you are not like the others", he stalled, stalking her like a prey.

"I'll take that as a compliment", she said then switched into business mode. "Where is September?" Clift smirked.

"Wow, she was such a bitch. I almost didn't eat her, I was afraid of indigestion", he answered shaking his head. "What are you going to do girl? Poke me with that little knife of yours?" he taunted, trying to distract her before he attacked her, trying to slice her with his dagger. She managed to dodge his every move and Angel joined the fight, kicking him across the face. Clift's demon face surfaced and he attacked the couple, they traded punches, their strength quite evenly matched.

Angel growled as Clift backhanded her hard enough to draw blood and he grabbed the demon by his shirt and flung him up the stairs. Clift crashed to the basement door and just managed to get up to his feet as Angel ran after him, hitting him hard enough to send him sprawled to the floor. Growling, Clift jumped to his feet, he grabbed a hold of Angel's jacket and headbutted him. Angel felt disoriented and stumbled on his feet before falling down to the floor.

"Hey ugly!" Buffy yelled behind him and as he turned around, she struck the dagger into his heart. The dagger started glowing with a mist that was a mix of red and brown. She pulled out the mirror, that fortunately was still in one piece and the mist was sucked into it with a demonic scream echoing in the room. She smashed the mirror to the floor and ran to Angel while Clift fell down unconscious.

"Angel! Are you alright?" she asked frantically, lifting his head to her lap. "Just fine, a little numb", he answered.

"I think we better get out of here before he wakes up. Are you sure he won't remember anything as he wakes up?" "Yes, I'm sure", he assured her. She looked around herself and gently laid him back to the floor, rushing to the living room and retuning with a glass of scotch.

"You're not drinking that!" Angel said from the floor and Buffy rolled her eyes.

"I'm not gonna drink it", she said and threw half the glass to the unconscious Clift's shirt before setting it down next to his hand. "It's better for him to think he has developed a drinking habbit than wonder why he can't remember anything from the past three weeks", she explained before lifting him up to his feet that didn't hold him up.

"Okay, let's try to get you to the car", she said and half carried and half dragged him out of the house.

"You're not driving", he protested but she just gave him a wicked smirk while putting his seatbelt on. "I don't think you're in a position to do anything about it", she said throwing the keys into the air and catching them before walking around the car to the drivers seat.

"Don't worry, I'll be extra careful", she smirked.

.

Buffy, Angel and Cordelia were standing on the office window looking at Doyle who had just laid down on the sofa.

"So he spoke to Harry?", Cordelia asked and Angel nodded. "Didn't go all that well, huh?" "He just needs time", Buffy suggested.

"He's still hung up on her, isn't he?" Cordelia stated with a sigh. "Probably more than he realized."

"Well, someone has to go out there and cheer him up", Cordelia said and Angel started to get up but Cordelia stopped him. "Oh please. Someone with a heartbeat", she said then glanced at Buffy. "And someone normal", she added before strolling to Doyle.

"Hi, Doyle. Are you going to become loser pining guy, like full time now? Because you know, we already have one of those around the office", she said bluntly, getting a protest from both males as Buffy just smirked.

"He can get away with it. He's tall and and look at the way clothes hang on him", she continued pointing at Angel. "Hey! No looking at his hanging clothes!" Buffy protested.

"Okay, I think you've cheered us up enough", Angel interrupted. "You can't live in the past. You got to move on. Let it go, forget it. Tomorrow is another day. Did I mention letting it go?" Cordelia continued like no one else had said anything. "Twice", Doyle assisted, now sitting up. Cordelia sat next to him, patting his knee.

"You'll get through this, Doyle. Nice guys don't always finish last, you know", she said with a softer tone. "You think I'm a nice guy?" Doyle asked. "I think it, I say it", she shrugged.

"And I can verify that", Buffy said from the door, she could very vividly remember when she had the aspect of a demon, and she could safely say that Cordelia was telling the truth.

"Feeling better?" Cordelia asked turning to Doyle and he nodded. "Yeah." "Well, my work here is done", she stated and jumped to her feet.

"We should talk", Angel whispered turning to Buffy. She nodded and they went back to the apartment. "So, what you wanted to talk about?" she asked even though she could guess.

"What happened the other morning with Richard. What was it all about?" "I just thought he looked like someone else", she answered, turning her back to him, remembering the time she had ran away wasn't something she liked to do.

"A demon from a hell dimension", he stated and she just nodded, not turning to look at him. "Buffy", he whispered and took a hold of her shoulder, gently turning her to look at him. Slowly she lifted her gaze to his face, swallowing the thick feeling she had on her throat.

"It was when I ran away", she started, her voice ragged and barely more than a whisper, she still couldn't look into his eyes. "After I send you to hell", she added and a single tear slipped down from her eye.

"Buffy, you did what you had to do, I have never, never blamed you for that", he said pointedly and forced her to look into his eyes. She swallowed again and averted her eyes from his piercing gaze, it was too much too look into his eyes.

"I... I was so lost. I was determined to leave Buffy the vampire slayer behind and be just Anne the waitress. But I realized I couldn't run away from being a slayer.. a girl I knew was taken into a hell dimension and I followed her. This guy, that turned out to be a demon, lured young runaways from the street and took them to the hell dimension, it was easy since nobody missed them and when they were spit out, they were too old to be recognized by anyone. Well, long story short, we got out and I got back home." She tried to down play it by fake cheerfulness but failed miserably. Angel pulled her into his arms and placed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"I'm sorry, love", he whispered and just help her tightly, rubbing her back soothingly as she cried against his chest. Finally she pulled back, but not completely out of his embrace.

"Well, it's in the past. We're together now", she said sniffing. "Forever", he promised wiping away her tears.

.

To be continued...


	6. Something to remember

**A/N:** Once again I'm repeating myself, but **Thank You **for all the reviews, they really are the best encouragement to keep on writing (even when I'm having days when I feel like somebody clubbed me on the head with something). And to **Angel-Buffy17**, I'm happy to tell you that Angelus will be making couple of appearances in the future.

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**Chapter 6: Something to remember**

Angel was sitting in his office, trying to read the book he was holding and counting the hours till Buffy would be back from Sunnydale. But when he felt the familiar feeling going through his whole body, he turned to look at the door, to his surprise finding Buffy standing there.

"I thought you were going to be in Sunnydale till Sunday", he stated and got up from the chair.

"Thought I'd surprise you. Surprised?" she answered walking, or more like sauntering to him.

"Pleasantly", he answered and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her into a hungry kiss.

"Missed me?" she asked after he gave her a brief moment to breathe.

"Always", he whispered back and claimed her lips again. Slowly he backed her against the desk, his hands wandering all over her body till he grabbed her, lifting her to the table and sweeping all the items to the floor. He abandoned her lips, slowly trailing down her neck, paying extra attention to the mark and giving it a small nip with his human teeth. She moaned at the sensation but managed to gather her mind enough to speak.

"What about Cordy and Doyle, where are they?" she asked breathlessly, threading her fingers in his hair.

"Out. On a errand. At least for an hour", he answered and pulled her into another passionate kiss, ravaging her lips. Buffy wrapped her legs around his, pulling him closer to her body and started unbuttoning his shirt. At the same time his hands were slowly trailing down her body and disappeared under her shirt. But the heated moment was interrupted when there was a loud crash and the room was showered with shards of glass as a demon charged into the room.

Buffy and Angel pulled apart. "This is not the time!" Buffy yelled at the demon, still breathless from the intense kiss. Angel attacked the green demon but it kicked him so hard, he stumbled against the desk. The demon swung his sword, just barely missing Angel's head as he rolled over the desk into brief safety. Buffy kicked the demon hard enough to send it smashing against the wall. Angel grabbed a small ax and threw it at the demon, just missing it and embedding the ax deep into the wall. The demon attacked, swinging its sword at Buffy, trying to wound her but she ducked all its offenses. Angel grabbed the demon from behind, but it elbowed him hard into the stomach, loosening his hold. Buffy managed to knock the sword from its hands, but it grabbed her by her throat and lifted her off the ground. She tried to remove its hands from her but couldn't, it was too strong. Angel slid under them, grabbing the sword and stabbing it into the demons stomach. It growled and threw Buffy away, causing her to land on top of Angel while it fled through the window it had entered.

Slowly they got up from the floor, both looking for injuries from each other's bodies. "You okay?" she asked still searching for anything alarming.

"Yeah. And you?" He cupped her face and smoothed her hair back. She nodded and turned to look at the window.

"That was rude. We should go kill it", she stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I agree", he answered.

xxx

Buffy and Angel tracked the demon into the sewers, both armed with battle axes, only Buffy with a smaller one that could be more easily hidden.

"Somehow this is not how I wanted to spend my afternoon with you", she said with a pout. A lopsided smirk rose to his lips and he looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, I had some other activities in mind."

"I bet you did. So we better finish this thing so we can pick up where we left off. And how do you even know it's headed this way?"

"It's wounded, I can smell its blood", he answered and looked away, he didn't like to remind her that he wasn't human.

"Yeah... the whole vamp smelling thing. It's a useful skill to have." She couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, often she forgot he was a vampire and she knew he didn't like reminding her of that.

Angel stopped as he saw the green blood on the wall, he swept some of it to his fingers and sniffed it. "This way", he stated and started walking again. He didn't get far when a strange sensation ran through him and he had to blink his eyes to keep focus.

"Angel, are you okay?" Buffy asked seeing his faraway expression. She did her best to hide the worry from her voice.

"I feel weird."

"Weird how? Weird bad?" she questioned walking closer to him.

"The blood. It's strong, very powerful", he answered rubbing his fingers together. He shook it off and they continued walking till they reached a ladder to a manhole.

"It could've gone up", Buffy stated looking up into the sunlight.

"I can't follow there, it's daylight", he said frowning. She turned her gaze to him.

"But I can."

"Buffy", he sighed. "I don't want you going after it alone."

"I'm a big girl, Angel. I can handle it", she said and touched his cheek softly. For a moment they had a silent discussion with their eyes, she could tell he didn't like the idea, but he also knew she could take care of herself.

"Check the Lone Bar, it might have gone there to get patched up. And be careful", Angel gave up, it was a loosing battle anyway.

"You too", Buffy answered and gave him a long kiss before climbing up the ladder.

Angel kept searching the tunnels, but he didn't have to look for long when suddenly the demon attacked him from behind. He spun around and it managed to wound him, slicing a deep cut into his hand. The fight was short, but fierce and it ended when Angel stabbed the demon with its own dagger. The green blood oozed from the demon's wound into Angel's hand that was still bleeding from the cut, he staggered back as the demon fell dead to the ground and the green blood in his hand started to glow. The gash in his palm closed and he fell down to his knees on the ground, crying out in pain. He was gasping for breath as his heart was beating rapidly, feeling like it was going to burst through his chest. His face twisted in confusion, his heart was beating.

"I'm alive", he gasped. His first thought was to run and find Buffy, but he managed to suppress the urge, opting to be more rational. He needed to find out what was going on before he did anything drastic or got his and Buffy's hopes up. Slowly he climbed up to his feet and headed back to the office through the sewers.

xxx

Cordelia and Doyle returned from their errand, finding the office completely trashed. "Oh my God!" Cordelia yelped looking around herself, then her eyes fixed on the pile of dust on the floor. She hurried to it crying out, "Someone killed Angel!" Then she looked at it again, sweeping some of into her fingers and grimaced. "Oh, it's just dust I forgot to sweep under the carpet", she stated, waving it off and straightened back up.

Doyle stared at her with wide eyes, still trying to recover from the scare. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack!" he accused, but Cordelia didn't seem to register it.

"He may be too cheap to hire a cleaning lady, but something BAD has happened here!" she declared waving her finger at Doyle. They both spun around as Angel walked into the room. "What happened? Where have you been?" Cordelia yelled at him, making him stop dead in his tracks.

"Buffy got back early..." he started but Cordelia lifted her hand in protest, silencing him.

"I don't wanna know", she told him with a grimace. She knew all too well what the couple was like now that the curse wasn't an issue, and it still made her nervous thinking about Angel getting a happy because she wasn't looking forward to another visit from Angelus. Not to mention that the empty desk with all the things on the floor was a big clue to what they were doing.

"And a demon attacked us", Angel finished what he had been saying, leaving out that if it hadn't he and Buffy would have been doing exactly what Cordelia had been thinking.

Again Cordelia was ready to ignore it because it didn't have any interest to her, but then she noticed he was standing in a stream of sunlight by the broken window and her eyes widened with alarm. "Hey! You're in the sunlight! Get away before I'm unemployed!" she yelled at him while Doyle just looked at him intently. Angel gave him a nod, a crooked smile rising to his lips.

"Did you turn evil! Did Buffy make you too happy!" Cordelia accused, she was constantly forgetting that there was no more danger of the curse even though she had been present when Angel and Buffy informed about the soul being permanent. But she was too used to being afraid of Angelus' return and otherwise the situation had nothing to do with her so she didn't feel the need to think about it.

"He's alive", Doyle explained not taking his eyes off of the former vampire.

"Oh, he's alive", Cordelia sighed in relief and then realized what had been said. She sharply turned to look at the two men with wide eyes. "He's alive!" she screamed.

Angel ignored Cordelia's outburst and kept his eyes on Doyle. "We tracked the demon, we split up and I killed it. But some of its blood mixed with mine", he explained and Doyle stepped closer, taking a hold of his hand and pressed his finger to Angel's wrist over the pulse point.

"And you ended up with a pulse", he stated and Angel nodded.

"Yeah. And now I want to find out what kind of a demon that was and what's really happening", he said determined and then grimaced, bending his back. "Ow, my back hurts. Everything's so..."

"More real now that you're real?" Doyle said and again Angel nodded.

"Yeah. I'm mortal now. I have a mortal body... And I'm so hungry!" he said staring past Cordelia with hungry eyes. Cordelia jumped to the side, hiding behind Doyle as Angel charged towards her.

"Look out! He's gonna eat..." she started to scream, but it soon turned into a frown as she saw him stuffing food into his mouth. "...everything in sight", she finished. Could it get any weirder than to see Angel eating something solid. Angel opened the fridge and filled his hands with various items, taking a haste bight out of an apple.

"Oh my God. Food! This is unbelievable. It's so... I forgot how good it all tastes when you're alive", he mumbled between eating different foods.

"Yeah, and they didn't even have Cookie dough fudge mint chip when you were alive", Cordelia stated and Angel turned to look at her, still chewing the apple.

"Oh, I want some of that! I'm not sure if Buffy has any. Can you get that for me?"

"It will go straight to your thighs", she stated.

"Chocolate! I love chocolate", he said and stuffed his mouth with pieces of chocolate, moaning at the taste.

"All right, we need to focus here. We need to try and find out...", Doyle tried to reason, but Angel was too caught up with his tastings. He drank down from a small container and made a disgusted face.

"But not with yogurt", he stated with a grimace and put down the container.

"Hey! We're in a situation here", Doyle said more forcibly and Angel nodded, he closed the fridge and turned to the others.

"I know. You're right. Let me think", he said crossing his arms on his chest. "And now my stomach hurts", he stated before turning to Cordelia.

"Cordelia, find Buffy. She' in Santa Monica near the Lone Bar. Tell her I killed the demon", he told her and with a shrug she turned to leave, but stopped when Angel spoke again. "Cordelia, wait! Just don't tell her what happened to me. Not yet, not until we know what's really happening", he added and Cordelia nodded before leaving.

"I guess we hit the books", Doyle stated and they went to the bookshelves, picking up a big stack of books and starting to go through them.

In less than an hour, Doyle found the demon. "Got it!" he announced and Angel came to stand behind him, looking at the drawn picture of the demon.

"Yeah, that's it."

"A Mohra demon. They're pretty powerful assassins, soldiers of darkness kind of thing. They take out warriors for our side, like you and Buffy. 'Needs vast amounts of salt to live'", Doyle informed Angel, running his finger along the line as he quoted from it.

"It was heading towards salt water", Angel stated thoughtfully.

"'Veins run with the blood of eternity.' There it is. Its blood has regenerative properties", Doyle continued turning to look at Angel.

"Which explains what happened to me. But it doesn't explain why", Angel said watching his reflection on the window, it was strange to see himself after 240 plus years. And what was going on with his hair?

"Hey, what difference does it make, man? The demon's dead, you're alive! It's happy fun time", Doyle interrupted his musings.

"What's going on here, Doyle? I have a feeling you know more than you're telling me", he said turning sharply to look at Doyle.

"Maybe because there's something I'm not telling you. We're both on a need to know basis here."

"Well, I need to know. Is this permanent? Am I... am I a normal Joe now? Can I have a normal life with Buffy? I want to speak to the Powers That Be", he said getting flustered.

"Hey! That's easier said then done, buddy. The Powers That Be don't live in our reality. You have to approach them through channels, some pretty dangerous channels", Doyle tried to chastise him.

"Yeah, well, you know what? Start approaching", Angel ordered despite seeing that Doyle didn't seem very enthusiastic about it.

"All right, all right. Maybe we can try the Oracles. But if they turn you into a toad... don't say I didn't warn you", he stated.

xxx

Angel looked around himself at the chamber he and Doyle were in. In the middle of the room, there was a urn of some kind and on the wall, an white arch with writing on it.

"The Gateway for Lost Souls", he read the foreign writing and turned to Doyle, a little amused. "is under the post office?"

"It makes sense if you think about it. Now listen, the Oracles are finicky and unpredictable. If you do get in, don't dilly-dally. Ask your questions and get out". Doyle gave the instructions.

"Aren't you coming with?"

"Not allowed. I'm just a lowly messenger, you're a warrior. If your heart is pure, and I do this right..." he said while scattering some herbs into the urn. "We beseech access to the knowing ones", he said and continued the former conversation. "We may just survive." He lighted the urn and it burst into high flames. The arc started to glow bright, a doorway appearing to it, and Doyle nodded his head towards it, telling Angel to go.

Angel stepped through the light and found himself in a white marble chamber with two unearthly figures in front of him. "Come before us, lower being", the male oracle said. The door became solid again and after quick assessment of the situation, Angel took few steps closer to the oracles.

"What have you brought us?" the female oracle asked.

"Was I supposed to..." Angel started to ask, but was interrupted by the male oracle.

"You call us forth and you bring us no offering?"

Angel glanced down, noticing his wristwatch, it wasn't like he would give them the Claddagh ring since it was the only other thing he had on. He took the wristwatch off and lifted his gaze back to the two beings in front of him. "I brought you this", he stated.

The woman held out her hand and the watch went flying across the room, settling to the palm of her hand. "I like time. There is so little and so much of it", she stated.

"Well?" the male asked impatiently.

"What's happened to me?" Angel asked, shifting on his feet nervously as the two circled around her like looking down at him.

"It's true then, brother."

"He is no longer a warrior."

"It was the demon's blood. It wasn't the Powers That Be that did this?" Angel asked and the male looked at him like he had said something amusing.

"The Powers That Be? Did you save humanity, or avert the Apocalypse?" he asked.

"You faced a Mohra demon. Life goes on", the female stated.

"My life as a human? I'm not poisoned or under some spell? There is no loophole?" Angel asked, voicing his fears.

The female looked up as if listening to someone and after a long torturous moment, gave the answer. "The Auguries say no. If it has happened it was meant to be."

"From this day, you will live and die as any mortal man", the male said.

"Privy to all the attendant pains, and pleasures."

"That which we serve is no longer that which you serve. You are released from your fealty." With that the oracles turned away, starting to walk towards the hallway.

"That's it? I'm free? There's no loophole, I'm just human?" Angel asked after them, but received no answer. The male just lifted his hand and Angel went flying through the arc, landing against Doyle and slamming them both against the wall.

"It didn't work?" Doyle asked.

"It worked", Angel answered rising to his feet.

"You just went in a second ago", Doyle insisted. When Angel gave him a puzzled look he continued, "Just look at your watch."

"I can't do that, Doyle. It would have been nice to give a heads up about bringing an offering."

"I knew I forgot something. So, what happened? What did they say?"

"They're a little confusing. Now I know how Buffy felt during my cryptic period. But, the gist of it is, it's real. I'm free", Angel answered, still slightly at awe.

"I can't believe this."

"Me either. I mean, what do I do now? I have this whole new life spread before me. I don't know where to begin", Angel said frowning.

"Right. It's overwhelming. You can pretty much do what ever you want now. The question is, what do you want?" Doyle said staring at him intently.

Slowly a smirk rose to Angel's lips. "You and Cordelia can have the day off", he stated and practically ran out of the room. He jumped into his car and drove to the beach where he knew Buffy would be. He had to restrain himself from running to her as soon as he felt she was near, but he still had a flare for dramatics and he kept in the shadows for a while, watching as she turned around searching for him with her eyes. He smiled and walked out of the shadows, into the bright daylight, not stopping before he reached her. Neither of them said anything, he just pulled her into a kiss, to which he poured all love and passion he felt for her, telling her everything through it. People stopped to stare at the couple that was oblivious to the world surrounding them, not noticing any of the stares, sighs of women who thought it was beautiful or the angry glares from people who thought it was inappropriate.

Finally they had to end the kiss since they both needed to breathe now, but they didn't pull away far, their lips almost touching as they gasped for breath. Buffy stared at him with wonder, she couldn't understand it, her hand had drifted to rest on his chest and she could distinctively feel his heart beating rapidly.

"How?" she whispered the question.

"I'll explain later. Just trust me, okay."

"With my life", she answered and he pulled her into another earth shattering kiss.

xxx

They made a hasty run back to the office, barely managing to get down the stairs. As soon as they were in the apartment, Angel pulled her into a hungry kiss which she was more than happy to return. The kiss grew more heated by the second. Angel backed her into the kitchen, trying to make it to the bedroom but it was a doomed plan.

He lifted her off her feet and bumped against the fridge, pressing her against it. Buffy jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his hips and all thought of purpose was gone from his mind. The kiss turned more intense by the second and finally he pulled away from the fridge door, taking few determined steps and sweeping all the items off the kitchen table before he laid her down to it, never breaking the kiss. If it was possible, they deepened the kiss, ravaging each others lips with great desperation, their hands roaming all over each others bodies, trying to touch as much warm flesh as possible, as though it could go away at any second.

xxx

After the kitchen table broke, they continued making love on the floor and then moved to the bedroom. Now they were curled up into each other, just content holding each other in the after glow, both breathless from the latest climax. Her hand trailed up to his chest, stopping over his rapidly beating heart. A smile rose to her lips and she turned to look at him.

"It's weird, you having a pulse and all warm to touch", she mused and raked her fingernails across his nipple, making him jump. "But it's good kind of weird", she added with a lopsided smile.

"Vixen", he accused and pulled her into a passionate kiss that left them both breathless once again. He gave her a self-satisfied smirk and after rolling her eyes, she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him into yet another kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against his chest and slowly she climbed into his lap.

But the heated embrace was interrupted by the growling coming from his stomach. She pulled back and smiled. "You're hungry", she stated climbing off of him and grabbing his discarded dress shirt before pulling it on. When he seemed reluctant to move, she climbed back on top of him and gave him a short kiss.

"I'm hungry too, and it's your duty to feed me. Come on, I'll show you what foods are the perfect yum ala Buffy", she said and got off the bed. Angel followed her into the kitchen, not even bothering to cover himself, and he found her already rummaging through the cabinets. He sneaked behind her and wrapped his arms around her, placing wet kisses to her shoulder. She moaned and tried to concentrate on finding something from the cabinets, but was failing miserably. She spun around in his arms and deepened the kiss while pushing him against the fridge.

After a while, she managed to pull away, both of them were gasping for breath. "Okay, gnaw on that while I search for the treats", she ordered and placed an apple to his hand. With a smirk, he took a bight out of it and Buffy almost groaned out loud, how could a guy make such a simple task as eating an apple look so... sinful. Quickly she turned away from him, knowing if she watched him even a moment longer she would jump him. She piled cookies, chocolate, candies and crunchy peanut butter to the kitchen tabletop, she'd introduce the real food to him later. She looked into the freezer and found the ice cream. She turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Cookie dough fudge mint chip? A man after my own heart", she stated and earned a lopsided smile from him. She handed some of the items into his arms while carrying rest herself, they made their way back to the bedroom, it wasn't like they had a table where to eat.

"Remind me later that we need to buy a new kitchen table", she said and earned a mumbled conformation from Angel since the apple was settled in his mouth as his arms were full. They dropped the items to the bed before climbing in it themselves.

"You know, I really love food", Angel stated as he took a bite out of chocolate bar that had been dipped in peanut butter she offered to him.

"Food is good", she agreed with a smile and pulled him into a thorough kiss. Once they pulled apart, he took a spoonful of ice cream and fed it to her. She held his gaze as she ate the offered treat and licked her lips suggestively before leaning into another kiss.

With a smile he pulled back and wet his lips before turning his eyes back to the container in his lap. "Why didn't you tell me about peanut butter?" he asked while sweeping another spoonful of ice cream.

"Well, you know, I figured if your vamp taste buds couldn't really savor it, I didn't want to taunt you with it", she answered almost shyly. She shifted closer to him, looking at him from under her long lashes. "But now we're going to become couple of gluttons together", she said with more lighter tone.

"I'm sure we can figure something to burn all the calories", he smirked and with a smile, she leaned into a kiss, causing the spoon tip enough to spill some of the ice cream to his chest. He let out a soft gasp as the cold liquid hit his skin.

"Okay, mortal coordination leaving something to be desired", he said chuckling, but Buffy shook her head with a crooked smile on her lips.

"Wrong. It's just right", she said huskily and licked the ice cream off his chest, making him laugh. He pulled her into another passionate kiss, pulling her as close to his body as he could.

xxx

Buffy and Angel were curled up into each other, his arms around her protectively, his fingers just mindlessly gliding up and down her arm as her hand rested on his chest, feeling his heartbeat.

"It's a good sound", she whispered and pressed a soft kiss to his chest.

"It feels pretty amazing", he answered with a happy smile, looking down at the top of her head.

"Oh, I'm so sleepy", she mumbled, but lifted her head to look at him with a lopsided smile. "But I still want..." she said not finishing.

"What? Again? Not that I don't want to..." Angel questioned with a similar smile on his lips. Buffy chuckled softly and shook her head.

"No, I'm spent. Pleasantly numb even. But I don't want to sleep, I don't want this day to end. It's been so perfect", she said placing her head back to his chest. Angel smoothed her hair back and placed a soft kiss to the crown of her head.

"Sleep, we'll make another day like this tomorrow", he whispered and soon she was sleeping soundly. He stayed awake, just watching her sleep peacefully in his arms. But his moment of perfect peace was gone when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Carefully not to wake her, he slipped out of the bed and pulled a pair of pants on before walking into the living room. There he found Doyle and he looked too worried for his taste.

"Doyle. What's the matter?"

"We're in trouble. The Mohra regenerated more than you. I had a vision and it regenerated itself."

"Where?" Angel asked while pulling on a shirt.

"In the tunnel where you fought it. Then it was in some sort of factory. I thought I tasted salt. Though it could've been the margarita", Doyle answered finishing with a shrug of his shoulders.

"No, it needs a lot of salt to live", Angel stated while pacing the small living room area.

"Well, it was very much alive in this vision, and angry if I might mention."

"I'll just have to kill it again", Angel stated matter-of-factly and headed towards the weapon chest.

"Yeah, but you're human now. They released you", Doyle protested.

Angel turned to look at his friend and co-worker. "You want that thing to roam free? You saw it in a factory. There is a saline plant in Redondo, we'll start there", he said, leaving no room for discussion and grabbed a sword from a holder.

"Yeah, but if it can regenerate itself, how can you kill it?" Doyle questioned, he wasn't giving up that easily.

"We'll figure it out. Just grab the book of Kelsor. You'll read, I'll drive", he answered and headed to the stairs, but Doyle didn't seem to move. He stopped at the first step and looked at his friend in question. "Doyle?"

"Shouldn't we bring someone a little more... supernatural along?" Doyle asked, looking into the bedroom through the small crack on the door. Angel followed his gaze, his face softening at the vision of Buffy sleeping soundly in their bed.

"No, I don't want to wake her, she deserves a perfect day", he whispered and continued his journey up the stairs.

xxx

Angel and Doyle made their way to the saline factory, Doyle reading the book and obviously not liking what he saw there.

"This is not good. It doesn't just come back, it comes back bigger and stronger. I think we still have time to go and get Buffy", he said glancing back to the way they came.

"I know what I'm doing", Angel assured him but Doyle just shook his head.

"This isn't your average demon we're fighting here. It nearly licked you before and now your mortal", he reminded Angel, but the former vampire just stopped and turned to look at him.

"If things between me and Buffy is going to work now that I'm human, I need to be able do this on my own. I can't keep risking her life every time some minion of hell comes after us. Just tell me how to kill it", he said in no negotiating voice.

Doyle turned back to the book, reading from it. "Uuh, 'It regenerates until the dark future it envisions is upon us.'" He paused, looking another part from the text. "'...to kill the beast one must bring darkness to 1000 eyes'."

"Funny, I only saw two", Angel stated.

"Keep up the glib. It makes me feel like we have a chance", Doyle shot back, obviously not seeing the funny side of things. Angel suddenly stopped as he saw two corpses laying on the ground, his eyes widened and he couldn't stop the dry heaves from coming.

"Take it easy, mate", Doyle said while giving him a comforting tap on the back.

"The blood", Angel gasped, fighting against the reaction to retch. He had seen countless of bodies, he had done much worse himself, but suddenly he couldn't stand the sight or the smell of blood. The very same thing that had kept him alive for the past 244 years was now making his stomach turn.

"It's never an easy sight, it's all part of being human now", Doyle stated, his voice laced with sympathy.

"I'm going to kill that thing", Angel ground out with determination and walked away from the bodies.

"Just remember that this thing is brutal, deadly, and... here!" Doyle said as the demon jumped down from a platform. The demon threw them both away like they weighted nothing. Angel scrambled to his feet and tried to take a swing at the demon with his sword but it knocked him back, doing the same for Doyle who didn't manage to get back up again. Angel kept attacking the demon even though it was just throwing him around effortlessly.

Finally after a brutal beating, he got up to his feet and decided it was time to run. But it didn't take long for the demon to catch up with him and again he was kicked to the ground. The Mohra kept kicking him around till he landed on top of a large lid and the demon followed him, hitting the surface with its morgenstern causing them both to fall down to the silo. Angel coughed painfully on the ground as the demon just stood up easily. He tried to crawl away, but the Mohra stepped on his back, keeping him in place as it pulled out a sword.

"The end of days has begun and can't be stopped. For anyone of us that falls, ten shall rise", the demon said and lifted its sword to strike. But it had no chance to bring down the blow when Buffy jumped down to the silo, landing on top of the demon, knocking it away from Angel. She spun to her feet, grabbing the demon's sword and ground out with barely held anger,

"You hurt my boyfriend."

"A great darkness is coming", the demon boasted.

"You got that right", Buffy stated and attacked the demon with fierce determination. They traded swings of their weapons till the demon wrapped its morgenstern around her sword and pulled it out of her hand. She kicked the demon against the wall and taunted it,

"Come on, this is the great warrior of darkness?"

The demon swung the chain, but she dodged the weapon easily and kicked it back to the wall. The Mohra attacked her again, swinging the morgenstern, but she managed to step on the chain and kick the demon causing it to let go of the weapon. The demon punched her hard before grabbing her by her throat and throwing her against the wall. It stomped after her, lifting her to her feet and smashing her face first to the wall.

"Together you were powerful. Alone, you are dead. What do you think of the great warrior now?" it said as it lifted Buffy off the ground by her throat.

"Little bland", Angel said from behind it and as it turned to look, he threw a handful of salt into its eyes. The demon was blinded for a moment and it let go of Buffy, dropping her to the ground. Angel tried to help her up but the Mohra grabbed him and threw him across the silo. It grabbed Buffy, lifting her off the ground and smashing her back against its knee before she rolled down to the ground. She got up to her feet and the demon grabbed the sword, swinging it her way. Angel looked at them with alarm but then noticed the flashing jewel on the demon's forehead.

"The light of a thousand eyes", he repeated to himself. "The jewel! You have to smash the jewel!" he yelled at her.

Buffy ducked the demon's offenses before she rolled down to the ground and grabbed the morgenstern, swinging it over her head before smashing it into the jewel on the demons forehead. The demon seemed to just crack, light shining through the lines and it vanished into a bright light. Buffy ran over to Angel, dropping down to her knees next to him and carefully she lifted his head to her lap.

"Are you..." he started to ask despite the pain he was in, but she shushed him to stay quiet.

"You're alright, that's all that matters. Shh, you're alright", she whispered and kissed his forehead. "It's over. We're both alive", she assured him and carefully wrapped her arms around him, placing a soft kiss to his cheek as she soothingly stroked his face and hair.

xxx

The next morning, Angel returned to the oracles and as soon as he stepped through the arch, he was facing the two creatures. "You again", the male stated, sounding almost bored.

"What have you brought to us?" the female questioned and Angel pulled out a small vase.

"Famille Rose vase", he stated, throwing it to the female who caught it easily. "Ching dynasty. Circa 1811", he added.

"Lovely", the female oracle stated, inspecting the object in her hands.

"Why are you here, lower being?" the male asked, obviously not having any patience for him.

"The Mohra demon said the end of days had begun, that others were coming, soldiers of darkness. I need to know if he was telling the truth", Angel answered.

"As far as such things can be told", the male said absently.

"What happens to the Slayer when these soldiers come?" Angel asked painfully.

"What happens to all mortal beings. Albeit sooner in her case", the female stated.

"She'll die? Then I'm here to beg for her life", Angel said, he was feeling like his heart had stopped and bursting into million pieces in his chest. The thought of living without her was now harder than ever.

The oracles turned to walk away, not caring about the matter. "It is not our place to grant life or death."

"I ask you to take mine back. Look, I can't protect her or anyone this way, not as a man", Angel said making the two beings stop and turn to look at him.

"You're asking to be what you were, a demon with a soul, because of the Slayer?" the female questioned with a slight tone of wonderment in her voice, but the male just turned to leave again.

"This is a matter of love. It does not concern us."

Angel shook his head. "Yes, it does. The Mohra demon came to take a warrior from your cause, and it succeeded. I'm no good to you like this. And if the Slayer dies too soon, that is two warrior it has taken from you. I know you have it in your power to make this right. Please", Angel pleaded.

"What is done can not be undone", the male stated.

"What is not yet done can be avoided."

"Temporal folds are not to indulge at... the whims of lower beings", the male protested.

"You are wrong. This one is willing to sacrifice every drop of human happiness and love he has ever known for another. He is not a lower being."

"There is one way. But it is not to be undertaken lightly", the male relented.

"We swallow this day, as though it had never happened. Twenty-four hours from the moment the demon first attacked you, we take it back."

"Then none of this happened and Buffy and I..", his voice broke. He looked down to the ground, then at the Claddagh ring in his finger and cleared his throat to try again, "What.. What will stop us from doing the exact same thing again?" Angel questioned feeling his heart break again. He was loosing a human life with Buffy, the children he could never have as a vampire. He would never make love to her in the sun, see her heavy with his child or raise their children together.

"You. You alone will carry the memory of this day. Can you carry that burden?" the female answered.

xxx

Some time later, Angel walked down the steps of their apartment, he needed to tell her and he knew it was going to break her heart just like it did his. Buffy stepped into view and saw the serious look on his face.

"I'm guessing, that expression isn't because they were all out of fresh OJ at the deli. What happened? Where have you been?" she questioned, already knowing it was something that was not good. Angel looked away, wearing a painful expression before turning back to Buffy.

"I went to see the Oracles. I asked them to turn me back", he answered, there was no time to beat around the bush.

"What? Why?" Buffy choked, feeling her stomach drop and the tears threatening to come.

"Because more than ever I know how much I love you", Angel said with a painful voice and she took a step away from him, looking at him with wide eyes.

"No, no, no", she shook her head in denial.

"And if I stayed mortal one of us would wind up dead, maybe both of us. You heard what Mohra said", he tried to explain, walking after her. She spun around to face him.

"The Mohra is dead. We killed it."

"It said others would come", Angel added, but Buffy kept shaking her head, it was like a bad re-write of the time in the sewers when he was going to leave her because of what the Mayor said. She raised her eyes to his, staring at him desperately.

"They always come. And they always will. But that's my problem now, not yours, remember?" she reminded him, trying to grasp any straws she could.

"No! I will not just stand by and let you fight, maybe die, alone. Life as a human means nothing to me if you're not in it!" he said fiercely and took a step closer, grabbing her by her arms.

"Then we will fight together", she said, tears already in her eyes. He shook his head, trying to keep his own tears from surfacing. Seeing her in pain only made his own heartbreak worse.

"You saw what happened last night. If anything I'm a liability to you. You take chances to protect me, and that's not just bad for you, it's bad for the people we were meant to help."

"So, what? You just took a whole 24 hours to weigh the ups and downs of being a regular Joe and decided it was more fun being a superhero?" she asked him trying to get away from his arms, but he wouldn't let her. His grip tightened and he pulled her closer.

"You know that's not it. How can we be together, have a life together if the cost is your life, or the lives of others?" he reasoned and her tears started flowing freely. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, pressing her against his body.

"I couldn't... I... I wasn't sure... if I could do it, if I could wake up with you one more morning as a real man", Angel tried to get the words out and felt his own tears rising. Buffy looked at him wearing her broken heart in her eyes and nodded her head.

"I understand. So, what happens now?" she asked sniffing. As much as she hated it, she knew he was right and she understood his reasons.

"The Oracles are giving us back the day, turning back time so I can kill Mohra before his blood makes me mortal."

"When?" she asked, her heart breaking once again. Angel turned to look at the clock, his breath catching in his throat.

"After a minute", he choked.

"A minute? No. No, it's not enough time! There's so much you need to see, so much I want to show you", she said shaking her head in denial with hot tears running down her cheeks.

"We have no choice. It's done", he said feeling like he was dying from just looking at her suffering face.

"How am I supposed to go on, knowing what we could have had, that we might have had children. Miniature Angel's. Wondering what they would have looked like?", she whispered, her voice hitching as she fought against the heartbroken sobs.

"You won't remember. No one will know but me", he answered and she looked at him horrified.

"So everything we did? I wouldn't remember what it was like to hear your heartbeat, feel your warm body against mine, seeing you in sunlight? The whole day is like..." she couldn't finish as her voice broke.

"It never happened."

She shook her head furiously, grabbing a piece of his shirt into her fist. "But it did. It did! I know it did!" She placed her hand on his chest, over his heart and she still could feel it beating furiously under her fingers. "I felt your heart beat", she whispered and lifted her gaze to his. His eyes were full of unshed tears and he pulled her close to him, bending his head into a kiss. As the kiss ended, Buffy looked at the clock and turned to look at him frantic.

"It's not enough time! Oh God!" She was clinging to him like he was her only hope, her hands clutching his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her more tightly and pressed a kiss to her cheek, his tears wetting her hair.

"I'll never forget. I'll never forget", she kept swearing to him and the same words rang in his ears as a moment later he found himself kissing her with a hungry passion, his hands sliding under her shirt. He pulled away, still feeling the pain of returning the day even though he could also feel the passion he felt for her at the moment.

"Angel?" she asked concerned, but he didn't answer because that was when the demon burst through the window. He grabbed the clock from the table and smashed it to the jewel on the demon's forehead. The demon disappeared in a burst of light and all Buffy could do was look at him stunned.

"Bad timing", he stated and threw the clock to the spot where the Mohra had vanished.

"Wow. How did you know how to kill it?" she asked with a small frown mixed with amazement.

"Been catching up on my reading", Angel explained dismissively.

There was a moments silence till a small smile started to rise to Buffy's lips. "So, you said Doyle and Cordy were out for an hour", she stated, her voice soft and seductive. She took a step back and leaned against the desk, giving him an inviting look.

"Yeah", he answered and despite the pain he was feeling in his un-beating heart, he also could feel the passion towards her rising again.

"And what should we do with all this time in our hands", she asked, her hands playing absently, but very deliberately with the hem of her shirt.

"I have no idea", he answered and with two long steps he was in front of her, pulling her into a passionate kiss and lifting her up to the desk.

.

To be continued...

.

**A/N:** Okay, I'm keeping the juicy bits censored since I'm still on T rating. Sorry.


	7. Long weekend

**Chapter 7: Long weekend**

"You're going to Sunnydale! Both of you!" Cordelia shrieked, obviously not happy.

"Calm down, Cordelia", Doyle tried and placed a comforting hand to her shoulder but she just shrugged it off and slapped him several times.

"You can't go! What if there is a vision, or an emergency?" she kept going, waving her hands animatedly at the couple standing in front of her.

"Cordelia, it's not like we're eloping for a vacation in Fiji, this is business. There's a new player in Sunnydale and if there's an emergency here, we're only two hours away", Buffy reasoned but the brunette didn't seem ready to give up.

"What if it happens during the daytime?" Cordelia asked with a self-satisfied expression, only short of yelping A-HA at Buffy.

"Then I'll just fold Angel into the trunk and drive here", Buffy said tiredly and earned a questioning look from Angel. "Besides, mom is going out of town and needs me to look after Dawn and she's looking forward on seeing Angel", she added and Cordelia gave her a confused look.

"I don't even pretend to understand what you're talking about", she sighed shaking her head and turned to Doyle. "Can't you make yourself useful, have a vision or something!" she yelled at Doyle him gave him few slaps on his arm.

"What can I do? It's not like I get them by request", Doyle defended himself, raising his arms up in surrender.

"Cordy, it's only three days, you'll call if something comes up", Buffy said and Cordelia threw her arms up in defeat. "Fine, go ahead! Have fun babysitting this new scooby and prowling around the cemeteries. But our deaths will be hanging over your head, sister", she threatened over dramatically and stomped out of the room. Everyone looked after her not sure should they be amused or scared.

"Can you spell overreacting, it's only three days", Buffy muttered with a pout. Angel smiled at the picture she made and gathered her in his arms. "She's just letting out some fumes", he consoled her and she nodded.

"I'm gonna go after her to make sure she doesn't break anything", Doyle stated and signaled to the door. "Let her cool off a little bit, it might be dangerous territory right now", Buffy suggested and Doyle seemed to think it was a good idea.

"So, when are you going to tame the shrew?" she changed the subject and Doyle turned to look at her sharply.

"What?"

"When are you going to ask her out?" she clarified. "I'm going to..." he said not finishing his sentence.

"When?"

"Just looking for the right time, I'm still softening her up", Doyle answered with a slight hint of defensiveness in his voice.

"What are you waiting for? You have to act, what if she finds another shoe-throwing millionaire? Come on, what's the worst thing that can happen?" she asked looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"She shoots me down mercilessly and things get weird around here."

"So you're just going to pine over her like a school boy?"

"Hey, I'm not pining. Men don't pine. We just suffer."

Buffy sighed deeply and threw her hands up in defeat before turning to Angel. "Angel. Talk some sense into him. Do the male confiding thing. I'm going to pack", she told him and left the room.

"Has she been taking lesson from 'Delia?" Doyle asked with a smirk. Angel turned to look at his friend and shook his head in surrender. Doyle looked at him closely and after a long silence finally asked.

"You're quieter than usual. Cordy explained something about a Buffy-face to me and I'm guessing that's it. But I thought there was no need for that anymore. So what's going on in that big head of yours?" Angel looked at him from under his brows and shook his head, running his finger through his hair and sighing deeply.

"It's nothing. Just thinking about the past and the future", he answered like there was nothing to worry about. Doyle looked at him suspiciously, there was something he wasn't telling him.

"You're not going to do something foolish and noble, are you?" he asked with a tinge of worry in his voice. Angel looked at him in question and shook his head.

"No, just old ghosts", he dismissed the conversation. "I still have a feeling you're not telling me something", Doyle insisted.

"Look, Doyle, I'm not into the whole discussing my feelings sort of thing, so let's not talk about it", Angel shot him down and Doyle raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright. I'll change the subject. So you're going back to Sunnydale? You gonna have dinner with the mother-in-law?" Doyle asked like they had been discussing something of the same category.

XXX

As soon as Buffy and Angel passed the Welcome to Sunnydale sign she turned to look at him. "Maybe we should stop at the Magic Shop before we go to the mansion. Giles said he'd be there till late at night", she suggested.

"Sure, but shouldn't we first visit your mother?" he asked and turned to look at Buffy who was giving him the full pout. "Don't wanna. Can't we postpone it till tomorrow?" she asked like a little child. "Buffy."

"Fine, we'll visit mom and Dawn tonight. But after we see Giles, he's on the way", she surrendered and folded her arms in front of her.

"Why don't you want to meet your family?" Angel asked not taking his eyes off the road. Buffy sighed deeply and unfolded her arms, only to fiddle with her fingers.

"It's not that I don't want to see them. It's just... I wanted to wait till tomorrow, to regroup a little and get the slayer stuff away first", she answered, glancing at him from time to time. "To meet them without me", Angel stated glumly. Buffy turned sharply to look at him, shaking her head furiously.

"No, it's not that! I want you to see them and Dawn's been waiting to see you again. You have to believe me, it's not you. It's just... It's hard to be the Slayer around them, they don't want to hear it. Mom always belittles that I need to train with Giles and all the other slayer stuff. And Dawn doesn't understand it, she's so protected from it that she just doesn't get what it's like to be a Slayer. Sometimes it's just hard, being a Slayer is part of me, no matter how much I would love it not to be", she tried to explain, looking at Angel intently even though he was only glancing at her way while keeping his concentration on the road.

"They love you, but people just have hard time accepting the supernatural things in the night", he stated and took a hold of her hand with his other.

"I know they love me, and I love them. I sound such a bitch, but being a Slayer is a big part of who I am and I just don't... don't like pretending to be something I'm not, not even for them."

"It's understandable. You don't sound insensitive", he assured her and she smiled, he just couldn't call her a bitch.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" He glanced at her with a small smirk on his lips. "Maybe once or twice."

"Well, just so you know. I love you", she said with a smile playing on her lips and she leaned closer to him, pressing a soft kiss to the side of his mouth without blocking his view on the road. He pulled over to the side of the road and turned to her, grabbing the back of her neck and pulling her into a passionate kiss. She moaned against his lips while threading her fingers in his hair and deepening the kiss further. She let out a breathy moan and pulled away earning a disappointed groan from him. She gave him a apologetic smile.

"The sooner we see Giles and mom, the sooner we get back to the mansion", she stated with a seductive grin that was almost enough to make him groan again. "We're there", he said and she scrunched her face in confusion.

"Where?"

He couldn't help but smile at her. "The Magic Shop", he clarified and she looked around herself a little embarrassed. "Oh, well, we better go inside", she said and stepped out of the car. They went to the door and knocked loudly. Few moments later Giles came to the door, looking like he had struggled his way through a pack of hyena people.

"Hey Giles, what happened?" Buffy asked walking inside. Giles signed Angel to step inside and he closed the door after him.

"Umm... I was attacked by a stack of books actually", he stated adjusting his crooked glasses. "Are you sure you want to open this store? Even the books have it against you and you're old pals", she asked looking around herself.

"I'm quite sure", Giles answered walking after her, then he seemed to realize something. "Actually I wasn't expecting you two until tomorrow", he stated.

"I thought I told you about the classes being canceled for tomorrow, so this is like a long weekend getaway. Only in the business manner", Buffy answered, still looking around herself.

"Did you just arrive?" he asked turning to look at Angel. "Yeah, we stopped on our way to mom's", Buffy answered before Angel could. "Oh?"

Buffy could hear the question in Giles' voice and she really didn't want to have the conversation with him. Angel could see it and he picked up a book, catching Giles' attention. "Do you have the Ancient Prophecies by Ishida Akio?" he asked and Buffy gave him a grateful smile.

XXX

Buffy took a deep breath and rang the doorbell, normally she would have just given a brief knock before walking in but she had misplaced her key, not lost, just misplaced. Hopefully. She could hear Dawn running to the door and yank it open.

"What's with the bell ringing?" she asked not bothering with pleasantries before she noticed Angel and gave him a wide smile. Buffy rolled her eyes at her sister.

"I need you to invite Angel inside", she said and Dawn gave her a strange look.

"Why?"

"Because of the spell we had to do because of Harmony, so now Angel can't come in without an invitation", she explained. "Why don't you invite him?" Dawn asked and Buffy let out a exhausted sigh.

"Because I don't technically live here anymore."

"So now I can invite vampires in", Dawn said smugly folding her arms in front of her. "Dawn!"

"Fine! Come in Angel."

Angel and Buffy stepped inside and he closed the door behind them. "Hey, kid", he greeted her with a small hint of a smile. "Hey, Angel. And don't call me kid", Dawn answered with a frown.

"Then stop acting like one", Buffy stated and grabbed hold of Angel's hand before leading him to the kitchen where she could hear her mother. "I am not!" Dawn protested, running after them.

"Hey, mom", Buffy said from the door and Joyce turned to look with a smile on her face. "Buffy", she said with a motherly warmth in her voice, then her gaze drifted to the man next to her daughter. "Angel", she greeted with a cooler but not unfriendly tone. "Mrs. Summers", Angel responded politely.

"Would you like a sandwich? I was just making some for Dawn and I", she asked signaling to the ingredients she had spread on the tabletop. "No thanks, we ate before we left", Buffy answered, she didn't want to remind her mother of the fact that Angel didn't eat food.

"Oh, well, I just finish these and go make your room ready", she waved it off, going back to making the sandwiches. "We're staying at the mansion", Buffy stated and Joyce stopped her doings, turning around to look at her.

"Why can't you stay here in your old room?" she questioned. "Because they can't kiss and do all the gross things they do if they're here", Dawn answered making a disgusted face. "Dawn", Joyce chastised and Buffy sent a glare at her sister.

"I'm sorry, mom. I thought I told you we'd be at the mansion." Joyce sighed deeply and turned back to the sandwiches. "It would be nice to spend some time as a family while you're here, tomorrow I will go to a trip and Dawn will be spending her day and night at Janice's house." Buffy frowned and turned to look at Angel when she felt him give her hand a light squeeze.

"You should stay here tonight, make your mother happy", he whispered, his voice low enough so only Buffy could hear him.

"What about you?"

Angel gave her a small crooked smile. "I think I can manage one night by myself at the mansion", he answered. "Are you sure?" she asked feeling unsure about it herself but she didn't want to disappoint her mother, it was true she didn't spend all that much time with her family since she only had weekends in Sunnydale.

"I'm sure. We'll have tomorrow all to ourselves", he assured her and she gave him a adoring smile before leaning into a kiss. "Ygh!" Dawn yelped from the door, making gagging noises. Buffy broke the kiss and sent her sister another glare before turning to her mother.

"Okay, I'll stay tonight if you want", she said with a inaudible sigh. "That's wonderful", Joyce stated with a wide smile, truly happy to have her family together. "We're gonna go change the sheets", Buffy said gesturing to the door and pulled Angel with her, guiding him to upstairs.

She took fresh linens from the closet while Angel pulled the old ones off the bed and folded them neatly to a chair, a gesture that made her smile. Together they put on the new sheets and after the task was finished, they sat to the edge of the bed. Angel looked around himself, the room hadn't changed all that much, maybe matured but there were still the signs that it was Buffy's room.

"Mr. Gordo is missing", he stated and Buffy couldn't help but giggle. "He's in LA", she said and looked at him, what guy could notice that a stuffed pig was missing from a room he hadn't seen nearly in a year. With the smile still on her lips, she leaned closer and kissed him. She meant it to be just a quick kiss to tell him she thought he was sweet but soon the kiss deepened and was burning with desire. They wrapped their arms around each other and without interrupting the kiss, he gently lowered her to lay on the bed. Her other hand made its way to his hair, fisting the short hair as she let out a small whimper.

After a while, he pulled away far enough to let her breathe. "It's gonna be a long night", she whispered and silently he was agreeing with her.

XXX

The next afternoon, Giles called about a demon that attacked the store and Buffy tortured Angel by driving them to the Magic Shop while he was huddled under a blanket on the backseat. Angel dashed through the door and threw the steaming blanket to the floor. He turned to look at Buffy who was sauntering after him with a smirk on her lips.

"You wouldn't be such a bad driver if you concentrated", he stated and earned a deeper smirk. "But it's fun to see you squirm. In more ways than one", she whispered to his ear.

"Could you two not do that in front of other people", came Xander's voice and pulled them out of their little moment. They made their way to the others, Angel sat on a chair next to a bookcase and Buffy sat into his lap.

"So, Willow told me your decided to fly off the nest, that you've got a new apartment with a microwave in it", Buffy started the conversation, turning to Xander.

"No, it doesn't seem that I will get the apartment, they don't take references from my good friend Albert", Xander answered, folding his arms in front of him and looking at her glumly, he was still little annoyed of the fight he had with Anya.

"Albert?" Buffy questioned. "One of Xander's many personalities", Willow explained with a smile, earning a 'Hey' from him.

"Children, please. Let's try to concentrate on the matter at hand, the demon situation", Giles chastised. "So, tell us all that happened", Buffy said like she was talking to a little boy who wanted to tell about his exciting day. Giles sent a halfhearted annoyed look at her and started to explain about his encounter with the demon, demonstrating it vividly with the statue.

"How badly did you hurt him?" Buffy asked as Giles placed down the statue. "Umm.. hurt, well... maybe not... hurt", he said awkwardly. "Well, I'm sure he was startled", Willow said helpfully.

"Uh, yes, I'd imagine it gave him, rather a turn."

"So he ran away?" Buffy asked with a crooked grin on her face.

"Sort of more... uh... turned and swept out majestically, I suppose. He said I didn't concern him", Giles answered little embarrassed and hurt from the demon's words. "So a mythic triumph over a completely indifferent foe?" Buffy quipped earning a glare from Giles.

"Well, I'm not dead or unconscious, so I say bravo for me."

Willow went through the bookcase and pulled out a heavy book, glancing through it quickly before offering it to Giles. "There's some good demons in this one. Well, not good demons, but... evil demons... you know, a lot of them... you know what I mean. See if your guy's in here", she said and Giles took the book, adjusting his glasses before starting to leaf through it.

"So you bought the magic shop and you were attacked before it opened. Who's up for a swinging chorus of the We told you so-symphony?" Xander said looking at Giles pointedly, only to be ignored. "And let's not forget you were already attacked by a stack of books", Buffy added helpfully.

"Toth", Giles stated lifting his gaze from the book. "Toth?" Angel questioned, clearly recognizing the word. "What?" Buffy asked with a questioning frown. Giles was about to explain when he noticed Xander holding a crystal.

"Be careful with that", he chided and Xander put it back to the shelve, looking like a kid who had been doing something wrong. "Toth is a ancient demon. Very strong, the last survivor of the Tothric clan. This book also says that for a demon he's unusually sophisticated."

"Sophisticated? So should I discuss men's fashions with him before I chop his head off?" Buffy asked and Giles gave her a chiding look. "The book is referring to the fact that he does not fight bare-handed. He uses tools and devices. And he's also supposed to be very focused. And since he mentioned the Slayer, I think we know what the focus is", Giles answered.

"Where do we find it?" Angel asked darkly, yet another demon after his Buffy. Buffy turned to look at him and took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers and giving him a light squeeze to calm down his nerves. She knew how protective he was about her and it was cute and annoying at the same time.

"Well, there's no mention of the types of places he might frequent, but... I have an idea since he had a very specific olfactory presence", Giles answered, closing the book and placing it to the table.

"Well, I guess we're off to the olfactory. I hate that place", Xander said and added when everyone turned to look at him, "I'm joking, I know what it means. He smelled." Then he looked at them uncertainly, questioning himself. "Right?"

"Some demon rituals involve anointing with oils. Was it sort of, sandalwoody?" Willow asked helpfully. "Umm... not even remotely. But he was very... distinctive", Giles answered.

"Like what?" Buffy asked. "Like the city wasteyard", Giles answered and Buffy scrunched her face in disgust.

"And he was supposed to be sophisticated", she muttered. "But we have to wait till sundown so Angel come out to play", she added going back to business. Xander sent a glare at his way, of course the vampire had to come, you couldn't see Buffy without him these days. He didn't hate Angel like he used to because of jealousy and Angelus and now that he was in love with Anya and the curse was no longer an issue, he could tolerate the vampire but he still resented him for hogging Buffy to himself.

XXX

After sundown the group made their way to the city dump, both Buffy and Angel armed with large axes. The group stopped as they heard rummaging but then relaxed as Spike popped up from a pile of garbage.

"Spike", Angel growled. "Spike, what are you doing here?" Buffy sighed.

"Oh, there's a nice lady vampire who set up a charming tea room over the next pile of crap. What do you think I'm doing? I'm scavenging, ain't I?" Spike answered his voice dripping with sarcasm and he showed a small oil lamp to the others. "Very pretty", Willow complimented with a smile and earned a nod of agreement from Spike.

"Spike... we're looking for a demon... tall, robed, skin sort of hanging off. Deep voice?" Giles asked diplomatically. "You mean a great tall robey thing like that one?" Spike asked indifferently and pointed behind them. They turned around to look and the demon raised the stick in his hand.

"Look out!" Angel warned and pulled Buffy away as Toth shot at them.

"That's right! Kick her ass!" Spike rooted the demon. The demon fired again, just barely missing Buffy but hitting the lamp in Spike's hand, shattering it to pieces.

"Oh, that's just great! I was on your side!" Spike yelled angrily at the demon and threw the lamp back to the pile before stomping off with his shopping cart.

"Buffy!" Angel yelled and pushed Buffy out of the way, catching the hit himself. "Angel!" Buffy screamed and ran after Angel who had been thrown to the pile.

"Watch out!" Xander yelled as Toth raised the rod and shot at Buffy. He stepped right in front of her and went flying next to Angel. "Xander!" Willow said worriedly and rushed over to him. Buffy was already helping Angel to his feet but he seemed a little disorientated.

"Xander, you okay? Buffy asked while Willow and Giles lifted him to his feet. "I'm fine", Xander answered but soon after staggered.

"It appears Toth left", Giles stated as they seemed to be alone on the dump. "Good for him, I would have kicked his ass after this stunt", Buffy grumbled and looked at Angel worriedly. He gave her a assuring smile and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"I'm okay. That thing had a real kick", he said shaking his head trying to clear it.

"You sure?" she questioned and cupped his cheek. "Since there's no hole in you, that thing must do something else", she added looking him up and down, not finding even burnt fabric around where he had been shot.

"Buffy, I'm alright. We better get Xander home, I don't think he's holding up all so good", he assured her and nodded his head towards Xander. "I'm okay", Xander insisted but again his knees gave out. "Sure you are. Let's get you home", Buffy answered and they started walking towards the cars.

When they reached the cars, Buffy's cellphone started ringing. With a sigh she answered it. "Hi, mom... What? -- What you mean I have to stay with Dawn tonight, I thought she's at Janice's... Just great... Yeah, I know... What you mean by impressionable? --- Mom, it's not like we're going to teach Dawn how to play a game of tongue hockey... I was just joking... Okay, okay, we'll pick her up as soon as we can... Love you too... Bye." She hung up the phone and turned to look at Angel who looked at her knowing what the conversation had been about.

"I'm guessing you heard", Buffy stated, she was quickly learning about vampire hearing, you really couldn't have a private phone call when he was in the same room.

"So I'm spending another night babysitting Dawn", she sighed. "But Saturday night I'm sleeping with you!" she threatened and blushed as the others turned to look at her. "Umm... As in sleeping, not... You know what I mean!" she tried to explain but ended up blushing even more.

"No need to explain more, I believe we all understand", Giles said barely keeping himself from stuttering. He cleared his throat before continuing, "Well, we will get Xander home safely. So you two can go fetch your sister."

"You make me sound like a dog. But, I'll see you guys tomorrow", she stated and after a chorus of goodbyes, stepped into the car.

As the two cars drove off the city dump, a dark figure stepped into the moonlight. An evil smirk rose to Angelus' lips and he couldn't suppress a chuckle from surfacing. "This is going to be so much fun", he stated to himself and started stalking away from the wasteyard, whistling a eerie tune.

XXX

After some fighting, Buffy managed to convince Dawn go to bed and after the room door closed, she sighed in relief. Dawn was her sister and she loved her but sometimes she could just be so annoying. She made her way to her room and started shedding her clothes. She couldn't believe how tired she was and not long after she climbed under the covers, she was asleep.

She was completely unaware of the fact that Angelus had been sitting by her room window for the last fifteen minutes and now he slowly opened the window and soundlessly climbed inside. Crooked smile in place, he neared the bed.

.

To be continued...

* * *

**A/N: **Once again, **THANK YOU** for all the reviews, they really keep me going. At this moment I'm having bit of an evil streak and left this chapter into a cliffhanger, hope you guys forgive me.


	8. Like looking into a mirror

**A/N:** Thank you to all readers and special THANK YOU to all the reviewers. I know I haven't updated in over a week (*hangs head in shame*) and I'm sorry about that but with the holidays it's been busy. And while I still have my head together **HAPPY NEW YEAR** to all!

* * *

Chapter 8: Like looking into a mirror

Angelus stepped inside her bedroom and without making a sound he neared her bed. His smirk only increased as he watched her sleeping form, completely unaware of his presence, just like all those years ago. He reached out his hand, slowly gliding his fingers down her cheek and he almost chuckled as she let out a soft sigh and leaned further into his touch. His fingers continued their journey downwards and lingered on his mark. She stirred but didn't wake up.

"Angel", she whispered and let out a whimper of protest as he pulled his hand away. Low growl escaped his throat as he watched her angrily for saying the wrong name, but soon his grim expression was replaced with a triumphant grin as she moaned at the sound. His fingers returned to her skin, slowly making circles around the mark. She leaned closer to his touch, whispering his name but she didn't wake up.

XXX

Buffy woke up with a start, anxiously looking around herself but she was alone and couldn't find anything out of place. She let out a calming breath and shook her head chastising herself. Slowly she got off the bed and made her way downstairs, the dreams she had had for the better part of the night were bothering her.

"Don't be paranoid", she told herself while making the coffee. She glanced at the clock, she'd let Dawn sleep for a little while longer. Her thoughts were interrupted by the final sounds of the coffee maker announcing it was done, with a sigh she turned to it, picked up a cup from the cabinet and filled it with the liquid. With another sigh, she leaned against the tabletop and started sipping the coffee. She needed to talk to Giles about the demon, how to track it and all that but she couldn't do it while babysitting Dawn, she really hated to drag Dawn into the meetings since she would be constantly asking when they would leave. And then there was the matter of her dream. Her hand drifted up to her neck on its own accord and she was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't even hear as Joyce walked into the kitchen.

"Morning, honey", Joyce said making Buffy jump at the sudden sound. She spun to look at the door, nearly spilling the cup in her hand. "Morning, mom", she answered trying to steady her breathing and quickly drinking down the coffee.

"Since you're back home, I'm gonna go", she said and signed to the door before setting the empty cup to the sink. "Go? Why?" Joyce questioned.

"I just need to talk to Angel."

"I think you can survive one day with your family without spending all your time with Angel."

"I'm sorry, mom. But I really have to talk to him and we have a new bad guy in town which I need to talk to Giles about", Buffy explained and from the tired sigh her mother gave her, she knew Joyce wasn't happy. "I'm really sorry, mom, but this is important", she said regretfully and finally with another sigh, Joyce nodded in understanding.

"I'll see you later", Buffy said and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek before grabbing her jacket and heading towards the door. "Remember to be careful, honey", Joyce reminded her. Buffy stopped at the door and gave her mother a nod. "I will", she answered with a smile and left.

She hurried to the mansion, finding the main room empty and with no sounds of movement anywhere. She sneaked into the bedroom and a smirk rose to her lips as she found Angel still asleep. Quietly she neared the bed, fighting against the shivers coming from the similar situation with her dream. Once again he looked so peaceful that she couldn't wake him up and all she could do was to stare at him while thinking how beautiful he was. Quietly she took off her shoes and climbed into bed next to him. He didn't wake up, or at least he didn't open his eyes, just wrapped his arms around her protectively and pressed his face against the back of her neck.

After fifteen minutes of just contently laying there, he pressed a soft kiss to the crook of her neck and pulled her to lay on her back. "Morning", she whispered with a small smile and pulled him into a quick kiss. "Morning. I thought I'd see you later in the afternoon", he said settling to lean on his other arm.

"Yeah, I thought so too but mom came home early. I didn't remember to ask why", she said with a small frown, she had her suspicions but she didn't want to believe in them.

"We should stop by at Giles' to do some research on Toth, to know what the stick he used does, my demon has been strangely quiet after I got shot."

"What you mean quiet?" she asked getting worried.

"I can still feel it's there but I usually can feel its...", he paused to search for the right word. "...desires."

"As in it screaming for bloody murder?" she asked tentatively and he nodded. She ran her hand over his forehead and down to his cheek before placing a soft kiss to his lips. "You're right. We need to research what it does, he was aiming at me but obviously it wouldn't kill me since Xander got hit and he's not dead. It must have some other purpose", she conceded.

"The weather forecast promised some rain and clouds in the afternoon, think we could wait till then before going to Giles' apartment?" Angel asked and a crooked smile rose to her lips.

"I think we can find something to pass our time", she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I'm sure we can", he whispered and leaned closer to her, his lips hovering over hers.

"Like Scrabble", she answered innocently but soon yelped in surprise as he attacked her lips with passion. He deepened the kiss, making her moan and pull him closer to her body.

XXX

Most of the day had been sunny and beautiful, not that Angel or Buffy would know anything about it since they used most of it indoors. But as Angel had predicted, the later afternoon was rainy and dark and Angel didn't even have to hide under the blanket as they drove to Giles' apartment.

They walked through the door, finding Giles already buried in his books. "Buffy, Angel. I wasn't expecting you two till later. I thought you had to look after your sister", he said lifting his head from his book to look at the couple. "Mom came home early", Buffy answered.

"So what were you doing till now?" Giles asked innocently but then raised his hand as a sign to stop. "Wait, I would rather not know." Buffy chuckled shaking her head in amusement, it's not like she would tell him.

"Then lets change the subject", Buffy said happily but the smile faded away as she though she should tell them about her dream. "I had a dream that Angelus was back", she stated and Angel's face turned into a frown while Giles turned to look at her in alarm.

"A prophetic dream?" he asked ready to go to study his books. "No, this was different. But it's been bugging me all morning... or most of it", she assured them and gave Angel a small smirk, he had done great job at keeping her mind off of it.

"So what kind of a nightmare was it? You are a Slayer, so we need to be certain of these things", Giles asked and Buffy shifted on her feet, running her hand through her hair and glancing around awkwardly.

"Umm... It wasn't a nightmare exactly", she said with a small voice, trying not to look at the two men. "Could you elaborate that, please", Giles requested. Buffy glanced at Angel whose attention was fixed on her but the frown was still in place on his forehead.

"I dreamed that he was in my room last night. But it's not possible, Angel's soul is bound so there's no chance for him to be running around anymore. Besides, the dream didn't send warning bells off, it just keeps bothering me, like there's something I missed", she answered.

"It certainly is something worth looking into, we don't want to regret it later", Giles stated and Angel looked away guiltily. "Angel", Buffy whispered as she saw the gesture he made. She made her way to him, ready to steer his thoughts away from the guilt he felt because of Angelus but there was a quick knock on the door and Xander breezed in.

"We've got a problem", he said urgently and quickly looked around himself. "Is there something I'm missing, I'm having a heavy vibe here", he added looking at everyone at turn.

"Why doesn't anyone ever knock?" Giles asked to himself looking heavenwards but was ignored. "What kind of a problem?" Buffy asked going back to business.

"Some demon stole my face!"

"What do you mean, Xander?" Giles questioned.

"Just what I said, a demon attacked me and when I shook it off, it looked just like me, completely like me. We need to find it and kill it."

"What ever it is, it doesn't know what it got into, we're going to deal with it", Buffy promised but Xander didn't seem too comforted, he started pacing the small living room. "Calm down, Xander", Giles said softly and removed his glasses before starting to polish them.

"How can I calm down, there's a blood thirsty demon wearing my face!?"

"Xander, Giles is right. We need to find out what kind of a demon this is before we go jumping into battle. But why would it steal your face? No offense."

"I would believe a demon with such power and a grudge against the Slayer might want to appear as Xander to get close to you without causing any suspicion", Giles mused.

"Should I stay and help with the research? I promised Anya I'd meet her at the apartment, I signed the contract today by the way. She doesn't know there's a demon wearing my face!" Xander said just realizing it. "Yeah, you go and stay with Anya. We'll look into the books and go searching for Toth and well, you. Don't worry, we'll deal with it", Buffy assured him and with a grateful nod Xander left Giles' apartment.

"So we hit the books?" Buffy asked raising her eyebrow uncertainly after Xander was gone and Giles had locked the door. "I believe that would be our best option", Giles stated.

"We should look into Toth's weapon, Angel said he felt weird after the hit."

"Strange how exactly?" Giles asked turning to look at Angel. "My demon... it has been... quiet after the hit", Angel answered awkwardly, he was even more uncomfortable talking about his demon to Giles than he was to Buffy.

"Maybe Buffy's dream has a connection with your demon being subdued", Giles theorized and went to one of his bookshelves, picking a stack of books and setting them on the table. They were just starting to look into the books when Willow breezed in.

"This time I swear I had that door locked", Giles said jumping to his feet and yanking his glasses off. "Buffy, Toth is Xander!" Willow yelped going straight to the point. "I mean he looks like Xander", she added quickly after. "We know", Buffy said.

"How do you know?"

"Xander stopped by and told us", Giles answered, putting his glasses back on. "No you didn't. I had Xander, yours wasn't our Xander", Willow denied shaking her head. "How do you know?" Buffy asked slightly confused.

"Because my Xander knew stuff, he even did the Snooby dance."

"The Xander that was here, he did seem a little too confident", Angel said thoughtfully. "And he was pushy", Buffy added frowning. "But he smelled human", Angel said and everyone turned to look at him, he gave them a pointed look reminding them he was a vampire.

"Oh dear Lord", Giles said while reading a book but he was ignored. "Despite the smelling, it wasn't our Xander", Willow said and Giles turned to look at the group slightly annoyed.

"I said 'Oh dear Lord'", he said pointedly finally gaining their attention. "You always say that", Buffy stated.

"And it is always important."

"What is it, Giles?" Angel interrupted the argument. "Neither Xander is a demon", Giles answered. "One of them is a robot?" Willow suggested innocently, remembering that Xander had come to the conclusion some time earlier.

"Well, no. The rod-device Toth used, it's called Ferula-Gemina, it splits one personality in half", Giles explained.

"I've heard of it. I can't believe I didn't make the connection", Angel said thoughtfully, his forehead wrinkling in a frown. "Vampire or not, you're gonna get wrinkles if you keep that up", Buffy whispered and smoothed his forehead with her palm.

"That would explain the whole human smelling thing", Willow mused to herself. "The device splits one personality into two, dividing the traits into two separate bodies, with the strongest points in the other and the weaker ones in the second", Giles said and Buffy frowned.

"So Toth wanted two Buffy's?"

"Why would the demon want two Buffy's, I mean, wouldn't one of them be like all Slayer?" Willow asked as confused as Buffy was. "Umm... while the other would have all the Slayer traits, the other would be completely normal human girl. If you kill one, the other dies as well", Giles answered.

"And the same goes to Xander. The other one is at the apartment with Anya", Buffy stated and Willow's eyes widened at the realization. "And Xander went to warn Anya. He thinks the other one is evil!" she said frantically.

"Okay, we need to go there before something happens."

"We have weapons in the car", Angel stated as he noticed Buffy looking around herself for her weapons. She gave him a brief smile before turning to Willow. "We need you to give us instructions, I don't know where the apartment is." "Okay", Willow nodded.

XXX

Buffy ran through the apartment door but Angel was stopped by the invisible barrier. Buffy stopped as she saw the better dressed Xander pointing a gun at the scruffy Xander with Anya looking confused.

"Xander... Gun toting Xander, give me the gun. And invite Angel in", Buffy said with a authority voice without sounding commanding. The gun holding Xander glanced at the door and then brought his gaze back to Buffy.

"Why should I invite him in?"

"Xander", Buffy said tiredly and he didn't look happy.

"Alright, alright. Angel, come in."

"And now the gun." Xander hesitated for a moment before raising the gun and dropping the bullets out and handing it to Buffy. Buffy took it like it was infectious and handed it to Angel.

"Buffy, which one is the real Xander?" Anya asked looking at them both. "I am", they both insisted and soon tried to attack each other but Buffy stepped in between and pushed the scruffy Xander across the room. The other looked gleeful, so Buffy pushed him next to the other Xander. "Hey!" Xander protested of the rough handling.

"Okay, you're both Xander. Toth split you two in two and neither one of you is evil. You can't kill each other, or you can but it's full of badness if you do", Buffy explained but the two didn't seem to believe her.

"No way, he's not me. He's all too... fancy. And he has the mind controlling thingy", the disheveled Xander accused. "What mind controlling thingy?" the other Xander asked, putting his hand in his pocket. "The shiny disk that makes people bend into your will! Cover your eyes!" scruffy Xander yelled as he saw the other pulling his hand off his pocket.

"This?" the other asked showing his hand but scruffy Xander had already covered his eyes with his arms. "It will melt your brain!" he warned. Buffy couldn't help but chuckle and Angel shook his head in amusement.

"Xander, look", Buffy said taking the disk from clean Xander and offered it to the other who peaked through his fingers.

"It's a nickel, I found it on the construction site. Someone had flattened it on the railroad track", the clean Xander explained as the other admired the flat coin. "Cool. I always wanted to do that. Washington's still there, but he's all smushy. It may be Jefferson", Xander said excitedly while examining the coin. Angel wanted to say who was on the coin but decided to let Xander have his moment.

"Can someone explain to me why there is two Xanders?" Anya insisted getting frustrated. "I'll tell on the way to Giles'. We'll let him explain the details", Buffy said and they turned to leave when the door blew open and Toth stepped in.

"Oh great, rod boy", Buffy sighed while the scruffy Xander and Anya jumped behind the clean Xander. "I will not miss again, Slayer", the demon threatened and Buffy rolled her eyes at him. Toth raised the rod and Buffy and Angel dove into different directions as Toth fired at Buffy. The shot made a large hole into the carpet.

"Hey! I just made a small cleaning deposit on that!" the other Xander protested. Angel attacked Toth with lightning speed and kicked the rod out of its hand. He kicked the demon in the stomach before kneeing it in the head and punching it hard enough to send it staggering back. But the demon recovered quickly and backhanded Angel so he flew across the room.

"Angel!" Buffy screamed automatically and attacked the demon while Angel scrambled to his feet. She pounded her fists at the demon and glanced at Angel when the right moment came. Angel grabbed the sword and threw it to Buffy who easily caught it. She spun around and embedded the sword into Toth's chest.

"The cleaning deposit is gone", stated the clean Xander. "I was thinking the same thing", the scruffy Xander said with a grin and a identical one formed to the others face. Buffy turned to look at Angel with a help-expression.

"Is anyone else a little weirded out that they're starting to act the same?" she asked and Angel nodded in conformation. "We better go to Giles', see if he and Willow have found a spell to get you two together", Buffy said to the Xanders. "Just let me change first", the clean Xander said and shared a grin with the scruffy one.

XXX

Buffy and Angel got both Xanders to the magic shop and Willow turned them back into one with a simple spell. After some disturbing comments made by Anya, they managed to escape the torment by the excuse of patrolling.

"I'm thinking this could be a lot quicker if we split up, you take the SunnyRest and I'll take the campus", Buffy suggested and Angel frowned. "As much as I love patrolling with you but I want to spend the night with you, we both patrol different parts and we'll meet back at the mansion in an hour", she suggested pressing herself against his body and pressing a soft kiss to his neck.

"Vixen", he accused her and bent his neck to capture her lips. After while, she pulled back trying to steady her breath and as he was ready to dive into another kiss, she placed her hand on his chest and took a step back.

"If you do that again, we'll end up to the mansion. Remember, duty and all that. You'll go that way, and I'll go that way", she said breathlessly and pointed at the different directions of the road. "Alright, I'll see you in an hour", he answered with dark eyes and before she could resist, he placed a urgent kiss to her lips and quickly started walking away, looking at her over his shoulder. "Oh boy", she whispered to herself and turned around to leave.

She walked through an alley close to the Bronze when a movement caught her eye. To someone else it might have looked like a couple making out but she knew better. Soundlessly she crept behind the vampire and with a stake in her hand she grabbed the vampires shoulder. The vampire pulled off the victim and Buffy couldn't stop the audible gasp as she was face to face with Angelus. His dark eyes bore into her and his lips formed into a smirk, baring his teeth dripping with the girls blood.

"Hello lover", he said with a velvety voice. "Angelus", she choked out, only making his smile wider. He threw the girl down to the ground and stepped closer to Buffy who made herself not to take a step back.

"Did you miss me?" he asked lifting his hand and running his fingers down her neck, lingering on the mark. She shivered at his touch and she didn't seem to find the will to move.

"How can you be free?" she questioned, not really from him. And then it hit her, Toth, he shot Angel with the rod so it must have divided them in two as well, she couldn't believe she hadn't thought of that before.

"I don't know how this happened but after two yours on the bench, it's good to be back", he answered flippantly. "You're still so pretty when you sleep", he whispered huskily, his fingers trailing downwards to her neckline. Before they could go down further, she grabbed his hand, halting his movement and stared into his eyes.

"You were in my room that night, it wasn't a dream", she said accusingly and he chuckled out loud. "Heard every moan and whisper", he answered challenging her with his eyes. She didn't break his gaze as suddenly she hit him hard enough to send him stumbling against the wall.

"Oh baby, I've been waiting for a rematch for a while now, at last we got to the good part", he chuckled, wiping the blood off to his sleeve and licking the cut in his lip. He jumped at her, managing to get one good punch to her face before she retaliated. They kept blocking each others moves and the fight just got longer.

"We both know you can't kill me, but this is fun", he said while fighting and Buffy managed to hit him straight in the face, sending him staggering backwards. "Not for the reason you think. I can't kill you without killing Angel, he was shot by Toth and that split him in two. If one dies, you both die", she said and hit him again.

"Damn, does this mean I can't kill soul boy?" he said, it wasn't really a question. "Yes", she stated, kicked him to his stomach before kneeing him to his chin and knocking him out with a punch. He dropped to the ground unconscious and cautiously she neared him, ready for any attack as she knelt next to him. She rolled him to his back and she couldn't help but think that he looked deliciously devious even unconscious but she shook the thought away.

XXX

Angelus woke up in the mansion finding himself chained to the wall. He looked around himself and a wolfish smile formed on his lips as he saw Giles standing by the fireplace. "Rupert, long time no see. How are the old wounds healing? Still bothering when it rains?" Giles spun around, quickly guising the fear in his eyes but not quick enough. Angelus giggled and took a deep breath.

"Smell of fear is addicting , makes the blood so much sweeter. But I don't know if I'll drink you Rupert, I always wanted to try the chainsaw and somehow I'm thinking that there won't be enough to drink after I'm through with you."

"Shut up, Angelus", Buffy ordered and stepped in front of him, blocking the view between him and Giles. "Come on, lover. I was only making friendly conversation with the father in law", he said innocently but the smirk on his lips was anything but. He tested the chains making Giles jump but then he just leaned against the wall like he wasn't even chained.

"I always imagined we would try some chains one day, although I wasn't the one tied down", he continued but was interrupted by the angry growl. Angel crossed the room in a blink and pinned down his demon by the throat but didn't manage to wipe away the smirk from his face. Angelus giggled at the murderous looking Angel who was crushing his throat.

"Are you sure you've got the right one tide down?" Xander asked from the door as he, Anya, Willow and Dawn walked through the door.

"Dawn! What are you doing here?!" Buffy asked frantically and with long strides crossed the distance between them. "I just wanted to stop by. Why is there two Angels? I didn't know he had a brother", Dawn answered like Buffy was making a fuzz out of nothing.

"Dawn, what have I told you about going out after dark. And that's not two Angels, the one chained to the wall is Angelus", Buffy said annoyed and seeing the look Dawn was giving her, she explained further. "Demon, personalities splitting in two, long story. You can't be here!"

"Why not?" Dawn questioned one step away from stomping her feet. "I don't want you anywhere near Angelus. Xander, take Dawn home", Buffy said sternly and despite her protests, Xander took Dawn with him.

As soon as the car was gone, Buffy turned and noticed the intense look on Angelus' face. She went to where Angel and Angelus were and she laid a calming hand to Angel's arm. He turned to look at her and she gave him a look with her eyes, asking him to leave her with Angelus for a while. He hesitated but finally pulled back not leaving the room. Angelus turned his gaze to Buffy's, not looking happy.

"Someone's been in my head", he stated with a frosty anger and briefly looked at Willow. "Isn't it crowded enough in there?" Buffy quipped and earned a dirty look from him.

"Someone's been messing with soul boys memories", he said and turned to look at the door with a evil smirk. "She's not real", he added almost with a singsong voice.

"What are you talking about? I'm not in the mood for your games, Angelus", Buffy said tiredly.

"First I thought it was the witch, but she's not powerful enough to mess with everyone's heads. I bet the girl tastes like magic."

"You leave my sister alone!" Buffy yelled angrily. "You don't have a sister", Angelus answered coolly and earned a punch to his face.

"I don't know what game you're playing but you lie."

"Come on, Buff. You know I don't lie when the truth hurts more", he smirked and as Buffy looked into his eyes, she could see the frightening truth that he wasn't lying. She took a step back shaking her head. "Dawn is my sister", she insisted vehemently.

"We're ready", Willow interrupted with a small voice and Buffy walked to her, trying to suppress Angelus' words. "I did some extra work on the spell since they're not human", Willow explained.

"Okay, then let's get started", she said ignoring the growl coming from Angelus. Willow started to chant the spell while Angelus was screaming at them and pulling the chains without being able to break them. Then suddenly the growling and screaming stopped and there was only a slightly confused Angel standing in the chains. Buffy made her way to him, their eyes locked and she just stared into his eyes for a long while before breathing a sigh of relief.

"How does it feel to be unique again?" she asked but didn't make a move to unchain him. "Really good", he answered then looked down at his hands still confined in the manacles. "Are you going to unchain me?" A smirk rose to Buffy's lips and she licked her lips.

"I don't know, I can't be sure you'll behave yourself."

"Buffy, people present", Willow's voice reminded from behind her.

XXX

On Sunday evening Buffy and Angel walked through the office doors. "I think I lost points with your friends again", Angel said while holding the door open for her. "Maybe with Xander, but he'll get over it", Buffy stated but Angel didn't seem to be believing her.

"Look, I'm sor..." he started but was cut off by Buffy. "Don't you dare say you're sorry. There was nothing to prevent it, you didn't plan to get hit by the Gemina-thingy." Angel decided not to continue the topic and maybe it was better he didn't tell about all the people Angelus murdered while being free, he knew Buffy would feel guilty and he was the one with the burden to bear not her.

As soon as they stepped to the office area, Cordelia jumped to her feet followed by Doyle. "So how was your weekend?" she asked and Buffy shared a quick look with Angel before turning back to Cordelia.

"Oh, you know, the usual."

.

To be continued...

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry, ba2006, for not bringing Riley to be beat up by Angel and Angelus, if it makes you feel any better I did conciders it for an evil moment. Heh.


	9. My sister, the fiend

**A/N:** **THANK YOU**for all the reviews, they really mean a lot to me. Again I want to apologize on the slow update but with the Christmas and New Year it's been busy. Plus I sort of ran myself into a corner with Dawn's Key-ness being revealed, I wanted to do that later on the story since the Buffy storyline in the show gets kind of angsty after that but... I just have to live with it. And to **Pylea**, I'm sorry but I doubt Oz will be making appearance in this story since he didn't appear in either of the shows later on. Well now I'm not so sure anymore since you got my brain working on the possibility, but I'm not promising anything. But I loved Oz on the show and I was sad seeing him go.

Hope you guys have a great year of **2009**!

* * *

**Chapter 9: My sister, the fiend**

Angel sent a roundhouse kick at her way but she dodged it, just barely. He faked to the right and kicked her again, this time getting contact and she fell to the floor.

"Buffy!" He bent next to her and she looked at him annoyed, more at herself than him. "Auw", she groaned and started to get up. Angel offered his hand which she took and got up to her feet.

"I don't think training was such a good idea, you're distracted", he stated and guided her to the couch on the corner of the living room. "Yeah, not one of my best moments", she conceded.

"Wanna talk about it?"

She sighed deeply and quickly looked around herself avoiding his eyes. Finally she gave another sigh and turned to look at him. "It's just... what Angelus said... about Dawn", she confessed and she could see the guilt in Angel's eyes.

"I'm sorry", he said looking down to the floor and she grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her.

"Angel, you we're even in the body then, how can it possibly be your fault what he did and said?"

"I should have realized what was happening", he insisted. "And how could you have known, you still had part of the demon inside you. Giles explained the whole weaker and stronger thing, it was the demon inside you that got split", she said firmly and swallowed thickly as she remembered Giles saying that it was the demon inside him keeping him alive.

"But even after we knew Xander being split, I didn't realize it." He wasn't ready to give up proving his guilt.

"And neither did I, so does it make me part of the blame?"

"Of course not!" he answered immediately and she gave him a pointed look. "And it wasn't your fault either, so get over it so we can concentrate on living", she stated and got up from the couch, offering her hand to him. He took it and followed her to the bathroom.

"I still can't get his words out of my head", she grumbled while removing her sweaty clothes. "He was just taunting you, trying to throw you off your game", Angel reasoned but he also felt that Angelus may have been telling the truth, he could often remember two versions of one memory and it was bothering him. But he didn't want to alarm Buffy before he knew more about what was happening.

He turned the water running and turned to look at her, her face was scrunched into a frown. "I'm not so sure about that. The way he looked at Dawn..." She shook her head, trying to chase the chills away.

"If it makes you feel better, we'll look into it", he promised and started removing his clothes. "Yeah, that would be good", she stated and stepped into the shower.

XXX

When Buffy and Angel walked into the office, they were greeted with a furiously pacing Doyle. "What's going on?" Buffy asked and looked questioningly at the half-demon.

"I'm gonna ask 'Delia out to dinner", Doyle answered firmly and started pacing again. "That's great. Finally", Buffy said with a smile but it didn't seem to have any affect on Doyle who was still nervous. He stopped and gazed at the door as Cordelia strolled through it making her way to the office.

"You never guess! I've got a date tonight!" she said excitedly and everyone just stared at her. "What?!" she yelled not understanding why everyone went so quiet.

The awkward moment was interrupted by Buffy's cellphone, she pulled it out of her pocket and sighed as she saw the caller was either Dawn or her mom. She didn't even have time to say hello when Dawn's frantic voice interrupted her. "Dawn, Dawn! Take a deep breath, calm down. What happened to mom? Call an ambulance right now, I'm on my way", she said and hung up.

She turned to look at Angel with panic in her eyes. "Mom collapsed", she said with her voice breaking. Angel pulled her into his arms and after glancing into the bright morning light behind the shades, he turned his gaze to Doyle. He took his car keys and handed them to Doyle.

"Take her to Sunnydale", he said and Doyle nodded. Angel pressed a soft kiss to Buffy's forehead before brushing her tears away with his thumb. "You're not in the condition to drive, Doyle's gonna take you", he said and she nodded, the tears still flowing down her cheeks.

"You're mom's gonna be okay", Cordelia said from behind her and placed a comforting hand to her shoulder. Buffy turned to look at the former cheerleader and offered a sad smile, the gentleness coming from Cordelia was something she rarely let anyone see.

"Cordelia's right, you're mother is a fighter."

"I know", Buffy whispered and pulled away from his arms. "I'm gonna go now", she added and quickly made her way out with Doyle.

After they were gone, Cordelia turned to Angel. "You think Mrs. Summers is going to be okay?" she asked with uncertainty in her voice.

"I hope so", he stated solemnly, still staring at the door.

XXX

Buffy and Doyle ran though the Sunnydale hospital corridor till they saw Dawn sitting by the wall. "Dawn", Buffy whispered and ran to her sister, pulling her into a tight hug. "Needing to breathe", Dawn choked out and looking slightly embarrassed but none less worried Buffy pulled away.

"Are you alright? What happened? Is mom alright?" Buffy bombarded her with frantic questions. "I'm okay", Dawn assured her.

"And your mom is doing just fine", came a male voice from behind them. Buffy turned to look at the man, he was young and some might say cute, but the fact escaped Buffy.

"This is Ben, he gave me this stethoscope", Dawn said and showed the stethoscope hanging from her neck.

"Who borrowed you the stethoscope", Ben corrected and turned to Buffy. "You must be Buffy. I'm Ben, I'm an intern here. I've had the pleasure of hanging out with the renowned Dr. Dawn here while your mom's being tested", Ben said offered his hand which Buffy shook.

"Nice to meet you. How's mom? What happened?"

"Well, she's doing okay now. The doctors don't really know what caused the collapse, it could've just been a dizzy spell, low blood sugar, that sort of thing", Ben told her. Buffy glanced at Dawn who was playing with the stethoscope and turned back to Ben, still worried.

"But it's nothing bad. I.. I mean it's not... serious, right?"

"Very unlikely. So your mom doesn't have a history of fainting?" Ben asked and Buffy shook her head.

"No. I mean, not that I know of. She's usually really healthy. I live in L.A but I visit on weekends, she hasn't said anything and I'm positive Dawn would have said something if she would have fainted", Buffy answered.

"Well, I think they'll be running tests for a few more hours, then they'll probably want her to come back for some follow-up tests in a couple weeks, but it really doesn't look like anything too serious", Ben assured her and Buffy let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God. I was freaking out", she sighed and Ben smiled with understanding.

"I think you'll be able to take her home before too long." "Thank you", Buffy said before Ben walked away.

She turned to Dawn who had just stopped playing with the stethoscope and turned her eyes to Doyle. "Who is he?" Dawn asked bluntly, eying the man suspiciously.

"Could you say that little more rudely?" Buffy said giving her sister a half-glare. "Sure I could", Dawn shot back and earned a real glare from the big sister.

"Dawn, this is Doyle. Doyle, this is my little sister", Buffy introduced them. "Aah, so this is the little lass, nice to meet ya", Doyle said and offered his hand.

"Lass?" Dawn questioned with a raised eyebrow but took his hand anyway. Buffy just gave her a innocent shrug, then turned to Doyle.

"Doyle, could you look after Dawn for a minute, I have to make a call", she said signing to the corner where the pay-phones were. "Gonna check on the hubby?" Doyle said with a smirk.

"I don't need a babysitter", Dawn protested. "Yes you do", Buffy shot back firmly.

"Come on, little one, don't rive me from the company of a beautiful girl, I could take it personally that you protest my company like this", Doyle said holding his hand over his heart like he had been wounded.

"I'm gonna go now, behave you two", Buffy said and went to the phones, still keeping an eye on them from the distance. She dialed Angel's cellphone number and waited till there was an answer. "Angel", she breathed out his name as soon as there was an answer.

"Buffy. How's your mother?"

"Ben, the intern I talked with said that it's probably nothing serious, that it could be low blood sugar or something like that", she answered and glanced at where her sister and Doyle were standing.

"I'm glad she's alright. Have you seen her yet?" Angel asked with genuine relief.

"Not yet, they're doing some testing and all that but Ben said she can come home today."

"Have you called the university to tell you're not coming?" Angel asked already knowing the answer. Buffy grimaced, she hadn't even thought about it.

"Oops. I knew there was something I forgot", she said sheepishly and Angel let out a soft chuckle. "Don't worry, I called them after you left", Angel soothed her.

"You're a lifesaver. I knew there was a reason why I love you", she said with a smile. "So it wasn't just my broody good looks, that's good to know", he joked and Buffy gave him a small chuckle.

She glanced at her sister and the smile faded away from her face. "I think I should stay here for a few days, just to make sure mom's okay, and to look after Dawn, she looked pretty shook up, well not that it changed her attitude but still", she said with a sigh and closed her eyes.

"I understand. But how about your studies?"

"I think I'll call Melissa, she has few same classes with me but other than that, I just have to make it work. But I think I have to hang up now, Dawn is giving Doyle googly eyes." Angel chuckled debating if she was serious or not. "I love you."

"I love you too. I'll call you later. Bye", Buffy said and hung up. She walked to the others and sat down next to Dawn. She took her hand and gave it a small comforting squeeze. Dawn looked at her but didn't say anything.

XXX

Few hours later Joyce was released from the hospital and quickly tiring on everybody doting on her. Later on the evening, Buffy went out for a patrol and left Willow to look after her mother and sister as Doyle acquainted himself with the bars in Sunnydale.

It didn't take her long to find a burly vampire near an abandoned industrial building. "Nice night for a walk", Buffy said and the vampire spun around with full vamp face. "Slayer", he growled and Buffy couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Oh please, after five years that line starts to get worn out", she said. With a growl, the vampire attacked her and threw her against the wire fence surrounding the building. The vampire tried to smash his fist into her face but she ducked just in time.

"I always wanted to kill a slayer", he growled and Buffy just gave him a shrug. "And I always wanted to take piano lessons. So really, who's surprised we've got all this suppressed anger?" she said casually and hit the vampire sending him staggering back. She hit him again several times but somehow the vampire managed to get a good punch at her and she almost lost her footing. She retaliated twice as hard and after few hits, she swung his hand behind his back and slammed him roughly against the fence.

"But honestly? I think I'm expressing mine better. Tell you what, you find yourself a good anger management class..." she started to say before the vampire managed to throw her off his back. She was quick to react as she grabbed the vampire, threw him back against the fence and drew a stake from her jacket. "And I'll jam this pokey wood stick through your heart", she finished like the conversation hadn't been interrupted at all. Quickly she stepped forward and embedded the stake into the vamps chest and it burst into ashes. "I think that sets the world speed record for closure", she mused to herself.

"Hey!" she heard a man's voice call out and as she spun around, she was blinded with a flashlight shining to her eyes. "Miss, if you're looking for one of those rave parties, I'm afraid you're too late. I chased a bunch of kids out of here last night", the night watcher said and Buffy tried to look disappointed.

"Oh, right. Darn. My fellow ravers will be so disappointed. It was my turn to bring the Bundt cake", she said and the night watcher gave her a sympathetic look. "If it was my call, I'd let you do whatever you want. It's not like anybody's using this place or nothing. But they just don't pay me enough to argue with the boss so..." the guard said and pointed at the doorway with his flashlight.

"Already gone", Buffy said with her hands held up in surrender. She turned around to leave but the man's voice stopped her. "Hey! Hold it, miss. Take your..." the man picked up a glowing orb from the ground and handed it to Buffy. "Whatever this is, with you."

Buffy looked at the ball with scrutinizing eyes. The man laughed and shook his head. "Glow balls, huh? I swear, I don't get your generation. What is that thing?" the man said still chuckling. "Oh, I'll let you know as soon as I find out", Buffy answered and started walking away.

She stopped at the nearest phone booth and dialed Angel's number, she didn't carry her cellphone while patrolling since they tended to break while tossing vamps around. "Hello", she heard his voice from the other end, immediately followed by a sound of hard fist contacting flesh.

"Is this a bad time?" she asked as she heard a skull scrunch against something hard. "No, not at all. Is everything alright?" Angel asked and threw the vampire to the ground before pinning it down.

"Yeah, I just found something odd and I thought I'd talk to you. It's a glowing orb or something."

"Can you hang on for a second?" Angel asked and balanced the phone between his shoulder and side of his head as he pulled out a stake and dusted the vampire. He got up to his feet while dusting his pants.

"Okay, I'm all yours. What kind of orb?", he said to the phone, giving Buffy his undivided attention. "I don't know, the glowing kind. I was thinking I'd drag Doyle to the magic shop tomorrow and put the scoobies in full research mode", she answered not so sure about it herself.

"Sounds like a plan. How is your mother doing?" Angel asked genuinely concerned. "She has a headache but other than that she's fine", Buffy answered not able to disguise the concern in her voice

"I'm sure she's gonna be fine, she's a strong woman", Angel comforted.

"I wish you were here", she whispered. "Me too. But Doyle has my car", Angel stated almost sounding like a jealous child and a smile irrupted to her face.

"Don't worry, it's still in one piece. He hasn't driven though any iron gates. Well, he wanted to but I talked him out of it", she said and she could almost see him scowling.

XXX

The next morning Buffy got up early enough to cook breakfast. It wasn't something she did often or was very good at but she was fairly certain it was eatable. She slipped the food from the pan to the plate that was already set on to a neatly arranged tray.

"Dawn, touch nothing", Buffy said not even looking as her sister entered the kitchen. "Who died and made you the Iron Chef?" Dawn shot back.

"Look, mom's sick and I made her a nice non-instant breakfast for once. And I don't need you..." she started to say when Dawn knocked down the rose vase as she was trying to put another rose into it. "Oops!" "doing that", Buffy finished with a tired sigh. She finished putting the ingredients back to the fridge as her mother walked into the room.

"Oh! Check out the 'Pamper Mom' platter", she said with a smile and turned to Dawn. "You two do all this?" she questioned clearly addressing to the younger sister.

"Buffy helped", Dawn answered easily and Buffy just gaped at her, not believing her. "I didn't 'help'..." Buffy started to say pointedly but was interrupted by Joyce. "I'm sure you did", she said motherly and sat down to the table.

"So neither of you is pregnant, failing school or under indictment? Just checking."

"We knew you were feeling less-than-great so..." Buffy started to say but let it just hang in the air. "Yeah, the headaches they said would go away came back and brought some friends along with", Joyce answered.

"I know something about those myself. Mornin' everyone. It seems I'm not the only one with the head-scrunching headaches in this house but I'm not going to recommend the treatment I use, you don't look much of a drinker. But despite the party going on in your head, you look lovely, Mrs Summers", Doyle said as he walked into the kitchen.

Joyce gave him a sweet smile and shook her head. "You are a sweet liar, Doyle", she said.

"I figured you'd be hung over till noon", Buffy stated, she was surprised to see him up already. "Well, who can live in a house with three women and sleep? Buffy here was banging in the kitchen while the younger miss Summers splashed around in the bathroom", Doyle answered.

"Why don't you go splash around in the bathroom while I make the coffee, we're going to the Magic Shop later so try not to look so hung over", Buffy said and Doyle lifted his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. Bossy. You've been taking lessons from 'Delia", he said and left the room.

Buffy turned to her mother, her concern returning. "The hospital called yesterday, what did the doctor say?" she asked.

"Oh, just to take four of some-pills a day and come back for tests."

"So they don't know what's wrong?" Buffy asked getting more concerned.

"Not yet. But it's only been one day."

"But that's still unacceptable. I think we should get a second opinion", Buffy insisted.

"Well, we need a first opinion first, honey."

"Okay, we'll go right now", Buffy stated ready to leave but Joyce gave her a stopping look.

"Buffy, I know you're concerned. But don't be. I'm still the mom. Which means I get to worry about you two. Which is a good thing because you're a Vampire Slayer", Joyce said firmly and pulled Dawn into her lap, wrapping her arms around her. "And you, you are my little pumpkin belly!" Joyce cooed to Dawn who just laughed embarrassed.

"Mom! That's like my kid name", she protested. "So I can't be retro?" Joyce questioned with a smile.

"Did you ever have any names for me?" Buffy asked with a hopeful undertone.

"No... I think you were always just Buffy", she answered not noticing the quick hurt going through Buffy's face. "I got some names for ya..." Dawn said but Buffy ignored her, turning her back to the couple and started making the coffee she had promised Doyle.

"So, I'm going to the Magic Shop with Doyle, are you sure you'll be alright?" Buffy asked and Joyce sighed deeply. "Buffy." "I know, I know", she sighed and went back to cleaning the table top.

"Book club tonight?" Joyce asked Dawn who nodded in conformation. Buffy wasn't even going to ask, it wasn't like she lived there anymore, besides, Dawn had always been the favorite, she was the normal, meaning not a Slayer who was living with a over 240 year old vampire.

"Just take it easy, I want you to relax and get a Oprah overdose."

"Plus you can check my rain forest report and you know there's like eighty bazillion old board games..." Dawn started but was interrupted by Buffy. "You're coming to Giles' opening."

"You said I couldn't come", Dawn protested. "Changed my mind", Buffy stated.

"Bring me something... like a flying broomstick", Joyce said but Dawn shook her head.

"They never really work."

"Oh, well. Some scented candles maybe", she conceded.

XXX

Buffy walked through the shop door and was greeted with the sight of Giles smiling serenely while he was dressed in a cape and a wizards hat decorated with stars. She just stared at him passively till he dropped the grin and removed the outfit, revealing his normal clothes.

The bell rang and Dawn and Doyle stepped in. If they hadn't been on a car, she probably would have ditched Dawn on the way, well with Doyle that either wasn't a possibility, so she had just rushed in before Dawn.

"Whoa... Mr. Giles. This place is so... wow. I mean, check out all the magic junk", Dawn commented as she looked around the store. "That is our new slogan", Giles said dryly from behind the counter.

"So when does it open? You know, for customers?" Dawn asked.

"Since nine this morning actually."

"Dawn. Go. Browse. And..." Buffy ordered and Dawn interrupted her. "'You break it, you bought it'. Heard you the first sixty times", she grumbled and went to look at the things on the shelves.

Buffy went to Giles with Doyle following. "Giles, I'd like you to meet Doyle, Doyle this is my watcher Giles", she introduced the two men.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr Doyle", Giles said and offered his hand which Doyle shook. "It's just Doyle", Doyle corrected. "Very well. I believe Buffy said something about you having visions", Giles went to the shop talk, obviously intrigued by the subject.

"Oh, yes..." Doyle started but was interrupted by the bell as Willow rushed through the door. She stopped on the steps, looking excited. "Giles! Where's your hat and cloak?" she questioned not loosing the smile. Dawn went to Willow as soon as she spotted her, showing her some talismans she had found.

"Willow! You gotta see this. They have the coolest talismens... mans... talisguys. I...", she said but was interrupted by Buffy. "Actually, I have a little Scooby-centric deal to deal with first", she stated and pulled the glowing orb from her bag. "What the hell is this?" she asked and everyone gathered to look at it.

"It appears to be paranormal in origin", Giles stated. "How can you tell?" Willow questioned with a small puzzled frown.

"Well, it's so shiny."

"Found it on patrol last night", Buffy said and gave it to Giles. "It seems to be something worth looking into", Giles stated and went to look into his books.

"So, how is your mom doing?" Willow asked. "She still has the headaches", Buffy answered sadly.

"Any word from the doctor?"

"Not since yesterday evening. He just described her some pills."

"Buffy. She's going to be just fine. The doctors will figure it out and fix it", Willow said and placed her hand on Buffy's arm, giving it a small squeeze. "Yeah, I really hope so", Buffy said and cringed as she heard the glass breaking and a quick 'Sorry' coming from Dawn.

XXX

Buffy and Dawn walked through the front door, Doyle had stayed in the Magic Shop to help with the research. As soon as they noticed Joyce laying on the couch clearly in pain, they rushed to her side. "Mom!" Buffy yelped in alarm. "Are you okay?" Dawn questioned just as worried.

"It's just my head", Joyce answered slowly rubbing her forehead. "I'm taking you to the doctor", Buffy said firmly but her mother just shook her head. "No, sweetheart. I'm fine", she insisted.

"We don't know that. We don't know anything. We're going."

"I just need my prescription. Please?" Joyce said and Buffy grabbed the paper from the table. "Hospital pharmacy open?" she questioned and Joyce nodded.

"Ten minutes", Buffy promised and as soon as she was out the door, she sprinted into run. She ran all the way to the hospital and didn't slow her pace till she reached the front door. She made a straight line to the pharmacy counter and purchased the medicine. She looked at the bottle scrutinizingly as she made her way to the door, she almost didn't notice that her name was called out.

"Hey! It's Buffy, isn't it?" the man questioned and first Buffy looked at him confused. "Ben... but you can call me the man-nurse. Everybody else here does", Ben said and Buffy nodded as a sign that she remembered.

The patient in the gurney caught Buffy's attention as he struggled to sit up ignoring the men trying to restrain him. "I don't belong here. I have important instructions. Fascists!" he yelled.

"Now you're hurting the nice orderly who's here to help you", Ben said to the patient and then turned to the nurse and gave her an order. "I need nine CC's of Phenobarbital in this guy n..." He didn't finish his sentence as Buffy stepped in and slammed the man back down easily. "Or not", Ben finished in awe. "Now let's strap him", he ordered the orderlies and turned to Buffy still looking at her in wonderment.

"You know, not to be rampantly sexist in the workplace, but you've got some serious muscles for a girl."

"I... um..." she didn't know what to say to that. "Radioactive spider bit you", Ben helped her out. "How'd you guess?" she said with a small smile.

Suddenly the man grabbed a hold of Buffy's wrist and looked at the medicine bottle in her hand. "Doesn't even help. Doesn't make a damn bit of difference!" he ground out.

"I've met this guy. He's a security guard. He's not crazy", Buffy said recognizing the man just from last night. "They're coming at you. Don't think you're above it, missy. They come through the family! They get to your family!" the man continued looking straight into her eyes. "My family? What do you mean?" she asked the fear running through her.

"Let's get him to Exam One. Now would be nice", Ben ordered the orderlies and they took the man away. "I'm real sorry about that. Here. For your mom?" Ben asked pointing at the bottle she was squeezing in her hand. "Yeah", she whispered.

"She's not feeling better?"

"Not yet but she will be. I'm starting to figure out what's wrong", Buffy answered and left the hospital. She took the medicine to her mother before running to the Magic Shop. Buffy rushed through the door, finding the gang doing the research while Giles was posted behind the counter. Quickly she made her way to them and spoke in low voice so no outsiders could hear her

"Giles, I have an idea what's making my mom sick."

"Have you spoken with her doctors?" Giles asked, knowing what was going on because he had heard Buffy and Willow talking earlier and Willow couldn't keep her concern for Joyce quiet. Giles couldn't help but feel a little hurt that Buffy herself hadn't confided in him but he understood that she had lot in her mind.

"They won't find anything. What's hurting her, it's supernatural. The night watchman who found this thing? And he went crazy, like overnight", Buffy said showing the orb and the others backed away. "It won't hurt us. I had it on me all night. But this guy, he saw things... he said things."

"Such as?" Giles questioned.

"They'll come at me through my family."

"Who?" Doyle asked in concern, he had developed quite a liking to the Slayer.

"I don't know... yet. But whatever touched this guy, it made him see through what the rest of us are seeing. He knew someone's hurting my mom and they're trying to get to me."

"It's possible but still... the ramblings of a madman aren't much to go on", Giles reasoned but Buffy shook her head.

"But it's a start. We need to find out who's making my mom sick and how."

"And then what?" Willow asked frowning. "Then I hunt them... find them... and kill them", Buffy said firmly leaving no room for negotiation, nobody went after her mother.

XXX

It was nearly dark when Buffy decided to stop researching and prepare to go patrolling. The business was still blooming and Anya had found his calling from taking people's money, other's could call it being a cashier.

The phone rang and Giles answered it just glad to get away from all the people. "Is Doyle there?" came the female voice from the other end before he could say anything.

"Cordelia?" he questioned in surprise as she heard the familiar voice. "Yes, Cordelia. Is Doyle there? You know, little Irishman with no fashion sense what so ever", Cordelia said and with a sigh Giles placed his hand on the phone and turned to the man.

"It is for you, please answer it right away", Giles said and nearly shoved the phone to the other man's hand. "I see Cordelia hasn't mellowed during the year apart from the Hellmouth", Giles stated to the young people who were gathered around the table.

"I still can't believe that you're working with Cordelia", Xander stated shaking his head in disbelief. "Come on, she's not all that bad. Well, maybe she is but she has changed, a little", Buffy defended Cordelia somewhat awkwardly.

"I've called and called and you haven't answered! Would it be so hard to get a cellphone!? I called the Summers house and some Dawn answered the phone, what's with that anyway?" Cordelia ranted into the phone as soon as Doyle gathered enough courage to answer it.

"Well, it would make sense for her to answer the phone since she lives there", Doyle stated.

"Since when?" Doyle ignored the question with his own. "Why didn't you ever tell me Buffy had a sister? You've practically told everything else about her." He was going to add 'while you were ranting about the Sunnydale days' but it was best not to if his life was precious to him.

"What are you talking about? Buffy doesn't have a sister", Cordelia asked confused but not loosing the charging attitude. "What you mean, 'Delia? Buffy introduced me to her sister in the hospital." Now Doyle was getting confused and worried.

"Did Mrs. Summers adopt or something?"

"What I gather she's Joyce's biological daughter. This is getting very confusing."

"Give the phone to Buffy", Cordelia demanded, this was getting them nowhere. "Buffy, Cordelia wants to talk to you", Doyle hollered and Buffy came to answer the phone, not knowing why she would want to talk to her.

"Cordelia? Is Angel alright?" "I'm sure he's fine, he left to Sunnyhell last night. But what I want to know is, what's this deal with a sister? You don't have a sister!"

Buffy froze. "What?" she choked out, the memory of Angelus saying Dawn wasn't real popped into her mind.

"We went to school together for three years, never once I heard anyone mention a sister nor did I see any signs of her. So unless she was a guarded secret locked up in a loonyville from birth, I would say something weird is going on."

Buffy had a hard time breathing, Dawn really wasn't real. Almost as if a sleepwalker she handed the phone to Doyle who looked at with worry. "You okay, Buffy?" he asked but she shook her head.

"Dawn's not real. Angelus wasn't lying. She might be the thing hurting my mother", she whispered till she seemed to pull herself out of the haze. "I'm going home", she said and quickly left.

"What did you say to her?" Doyle asked into the phone while looking at the door where the Slayer had just disappeared.

XXX

Buffy walked through the front door and her eyes landed on her sister, or what she thought was her sister. "Where's mom?" she asked coldly. "She went out. What's with the bitch attitude?" Dawn shot back.

Buffy just gave her a glare and prepared to say something back when the phone rang. She went to the living room and picked up the phone. "Hello."

"Buffy? Oh, I'm glad I've caught you. I think we may have underestimated what we're dealing with", came Giles' voice from the other end. "Go on", Buffy said knowing that Dawn was behind her.

"Right after you left, we found something. We've uncovered more than expected about this orb. It's called the Dagon Sphere and it has a history going back many centuries."

"So what's it do?"

"It's a protective device, used to ward off ancient primordial evil", Giles answered and Buffy glanced at a family photo on the table. "Any word on what this evil looks like?" she asked with her eyes fixed on the smiling face of what she thought was her sister.

"Unfortunately, no. This is where... where accounts get vague. All we've managed to uncover so far is the Dagon Sphere was created to repel That Which Cannot Be Named."

"I'm going to go back to the factory where I found it. Whoever planted this doohickey's got answers", Buffy said determined. "Buffy, you've heard me say this before but do be careful. Anything that goes unnamed is usually an object of deep worship or great fear, maybe both", Giles warned.

"Okay, I'll see you later once I've got answers", Buffy said and hung up the phone. As she turned around she came face to face with Dawn. "What was that all about?" she demanded. "Slayer stuff. I'm going out", Buffy stated coolly and headed to the door. But Dawn's words stopped her before she got out.

"Do you really think I care you're the Slayer?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Buffy asked, her tone not any warmer and she received a cold look from Dawn. "I'll be home in an hour", she stated and opened the door.

"Mom's coming back."

"I'll be back first", Buffy stated and walked out the door but she could feel she wasn't alone and not in the Angel-tingling way. "What are you doing here Spike?" she asked with a hard voice, she was not in the mood for his games. "It's a free country", Spike protested.

"Explain in five words or I'll punch you in the face. I've had a really bad day so unnecessary violence is welcomed."

"Out. For. A. Walk", Spike counted with his fingers and added: "Bitch."

"Out for a walk at night by my house. No one has time for this, William."

"On your merry way, then. You know, contrary to one's self-involved world-view, your house happens to be directly between parts... and... and other parts of this town. And I would pass by in the day but I feel I'm outgrowing my whole 'burst-into-flames' phase", Spike explained not very smoothly.

"Fine. Keep going, I cut you a break", Buffy sighed really getting tired of him. She tried to walk past him but he wasn't ready to let her go.

"Oh, yeah. Okay, let me guess... you won't kill me? Ooo... the whole crowd-pleasing threats-and-swagger routine. How stunningly original. You know, I'm just passing through. Satisfied?" he said defensively and turned to leave but then turned back continuing. "You know, I really hope so because God knows you need some satisfaction in life besides shagging the big poof and I never really liked you anyway and... and you have stupid hair."

With that Spike stalked away leaving behind a somewhat stunned Buffy who didn't know what brought up this sudden imitation of a five year old. She glanced into the ground which was full of burned out cigarette butts but she didn't have the time to go into the twisted workings of Spike's mind so she just left for the factory.

XXX

Buffy walked into the factory, looking around the remains of a broken wall till her eyes landed on a monk tide to a chair. She rushed to him and started opening his restrains. "It was you who planted the Dagon Sphere, right? I got it. Don't worry. I'm stronger than I look", she said and could hear the silent footsteps from behind her. Who in their right mind thought you could sneak soundlessly in high heels.

"I have had experience with stuff like this before. Best of all..." she continued chatting and suddenly spun around and grabbed the woman by her throat. "I'm not stupid", she finished.

The woman grabbed her arm and wrung it off her throat before backhanding Buffy hard enough to send her flying across the room. She hit the wall, making a deep crack into it before sliding to the floor, stunned at how strong the woman was. This is not good, she thought to herself. "You sure about that last part?" the woman sniped at her. Buffy got up and attacked the woman but before she could hit her, she was grabbed by her shoulders and thrown against the wall again.

"I just want you to know..." the woman said while walking to her, she grabbed her and threw her against one of the pillars. "...The whole 'beat you to death' thing I'm doing? It's valuable time out of my life that I'm never gonna get back", she continued. Buffy kicked her to stomach and tried to hit her but she grabbed her hands and twisted them to her sides.

"Wait, I've always wanted to try this. You know that thing with worms where if you have one, you rip it in half, you got two worms? Do you think that'll work with you?" Buffy headbutted the woman, making her staggered back several steps. She lifted her gaze and looked at Buffy stunned, almost in tears.

"You hit me! What, are you crazy?" she accused. Buffy attacked, hitting and kicking the woman strongly enough to send her retreating back. "You can't go around hitting people. What, were you born in a barn?" the woman accused incredulously till she seemed to snap out of it. "Fine. Be that way", she stated and hit Buffy hard across the face. She stalked to her and lifted her in the air by her throat.

"I just noticed something. You have super powers. That is so cool. Can you fly?" She threw Buffy across the room, landing her hard next to the tied monk. Buffy rose to her feet with a slight swagger and prepared to attack but then noticed the monk still in the chair. She glanced at the woman and helped the man out of the chair, guiding him towards the window.

"Hey! Hands off my holy man!" the woman yelled after her and started walking towards them. Buffy pulled the monk with her and crashed through the window, twisting them so she would be the one landing under him. But to her surprise, she didn't feel the hard, cold ground under her, but a hard, strong body.

"Oomph!" he exhaled as the two bodies pushed the air out of him. "Angel?" Buffy questioned stunned as she turned enough to see the man laying under her. "Hey", he greeted. Buffy got off of him with the monk and helped Angel to his feet as they heard the building crumbling. Angel helped her to keep the man on his feet as they made their way out of the courtyard.

"Stop. Please", the man breathed out. "No. We have to keep going", Buffy protested but the man was too tired and he fell against the fence, sliding down to the ground.

"My journey's done, I think", he said painfully. "Don't get all metaphor-y on me. We're going", she told him and tried to pull him back to his feet but he pressed a seizing hand to hers.

"You have to... the Key. You must protect the Key", the man choked out looking pleadingly into her eyes. "Fine. We can protect the Key together, okay. Just far, far from here", Buffy conceded but the man shook his head not letting go of her eyes.

"Many more die if you don't keep it safe."

"How? What is it?" Buffy questioned not knowing what he was talking about. "The Key is energy. It's a portal. It opens the door..." the monk choked out.

"The Dagon Sphere?"

"No. For centuries it had no form at all. My brethren, its only keepers. Then the abomination found us. We had to hide the Key, gave it form, molded it flesh... made it human and sent it to you", he told him and the realization started to dawn to her.

"Dawn", she whispered and looked at Angel with sad eyes. "She is the Key", the monk confirmed.

"You put that in my house?" Buffy ground out.

"We knew the Slayer would protect."

"So all my memories... my mom's..." Buffy started but couldn't finish it. "We built them", the monk answered and Buffy's face darkened. "Then unbuild them! This is my life you're..." she said angrily but the monk interrupted her. "You cannot abandon..."

"I didn't ask for this! I don't even know... what is she?" Buffy protested her emotions going between angry and confused. She could feel the tears rising but she didn't bother to wipe them away.

"She is human... now only human. And helpless. Please... she's an innocent in this. She needs you."

"She's not my sister", Buffy stated. "She doesn't know that", the monk whispered and coughed painfully. He exhaled roughly and Buffy could see the life going out of him.

"Angel", she whispered painfully and turned to her lover. "It's okay", he comforted and pulled her into his arms.

"She's not my sister", she choked out and let the tears fall freely.

.

To be continued...


	10. Old ghosts

**Chapter 10: Old Ghosts**

Angel and Buffy invited Giles to the mansion so nobody couldn't accidentally hear the conversation as they told Giles about Dawn. Giles was trying to digest the new information about the youngest member of the scooby gang.

"I don't know what to say", Giles said and took off his glasses. "Tell me about it", Buffy sighed and looked at Angel gratefully as he took a hold of her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"She has no idea of what she is and what is going on?" Giles asked and Buffy shook her head.

"No. She thinks she's my kid sister. And we can't tell her, she would freak, and that's the last thing we need right now", Buffy said and jumped to her feet, starting to pace the large room. She stopped and turned to look at Giles. "We have to keep her safe", she stated sadly and returned to her seat next to Angel.

"This... umm... woman, whatever she was... she knows you now. Should we be thinking about... sending Dawn away?" Giles questioned. "Away where?" Buffy asked, she knew it was a innocent question but it didn't make it any less ridiculous.

"I don't know... your father's perhaps?" Giles suggested and Buffy gave a humorless chuckle. "Yeah, that's a great idea... except he's in Spain. With his secretary, living the cliché. Besides, he doesn't care about us anymore, he's having the midlife crisis with all the trimmings, the secretary half his age, new sports car, bachelor pad and no ties to the life before", Buffy said sadly. Giles didn't know what to say to that and Angel just wished he could make the pain less but he knew nothing he said could.

"I'm sorry", Giles whispered sympathetically and Buffy gave him a sad attempt of a smile.

"I still remember... when he bailed on us, Dawn cried for a week", she said the emotion clear in her voice. She lifted her gaze and stared at Giles with sad eyes. "But she didn't. She didn't even exist then. But I can still feel what it was like, hearing her cry in the next room, not being able to do anything."

Angel wrapped his arm around her and pressed a soft kiss to her head. She leaned into him, taking solace in his presence. "It's okay", he whispered softly and only Buffy could hear it. She took a deep breath and sniffed the surfacing tears away before turning back to look at Giles. "They sent her to me for a reason. I think... I have to take care of her. I want to look after her."

"It is understandable, your memories tell you that she is your sister", Giles said.

"Yeah, the monks did the whole memory altering spell. But why didn't it affect Cordelia and why does Angel have two sets of memories, Angelus knew right away that she wasn't real?" she asked frowning.

"I am not certain but I would believe that Angel has two sets of memories because of Angelus, maybe the spell didn't have any affect on him because he is under Angel's dominance. And as for Cordelia, the monks must have been monitoring who is close to you and through you to Dawn and Cordelia wasn't part of your life then. But that is only my guess."

"But how am I going to keep Dawn safe, punching her was like hitting a wall?"

"It can turn out to be a difficult task but always do manage. But do we tell the others?"

"No, we can't. They... they would act weird around her and it's safer for everyone if they don't know. The thing that's after her is strong, I don't want any of you getting hurt", Buffy protested.

"I completely understand. But the woman that is after Dawn knows you, I believe it is for the best at the time being if you keep a little distance to your sister", Giles said and quickly continued as Buffy was about to protest. "I am not saying to stay away from her, I am saying that as long as the woman doesn't know what she is, she will be safe and we all will look after her. We need find out what the woman is and what she wants from Dawn. I and the others will look into it here and you can use the resources you have in Los Angeles. I know you are worried, we all are, but we need to go into this carefully."

"You're right. But it's gonna be difficult, staying away and knowing she's in danger", Buffy said. "I understand that. But as long as the woman doesn't know who she is, she is safe", Giles stated.

XXX

Buffy, Angel and Doyle returned to LA right after sundown and on the car ride, they told Doyle the whole story what was going on in Sunnydale. "I still can't believe she's a key, I would say she opens a big lock", Doyle said shaking his head as they walked into the office. "Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of", Buffy mumbled.

The whole group came to a stop as they found Cordelia standing on the doorway with her hands on her hips and looking very pissed off. "Finally! You guys left me here looking after the shop while running after the little slayer, like she couldn't take care of herself. No offense", Cordelia scolded the group tapping her foot to the floor and waving her hands animatedly.

"Sorry, 'Delia, but there was a situation in Sunnydale", Doyle tried to explain but Cordelia gave him a stopping look.

"Isn't there always. It's Sunnydale. It has a mouth full of evil things. And we need to pick up the business, we barely have clients. But don't worry, I had time to think of a business plan while you abandoned me here all alone, we can make a commercial. I even wrote a script", she continued and gave everyone their own piece of paper.

Angel raised his gaze from the paper and asked somewhat painfully: "The dark avenger?"

"I know, it's perfect!" Cordelia yelped excitedly as the others just looked at her somewhat frightened. "Angel the dark avenger", Buffy chuckled and looked at Angel who just gave her a scolding look.

"It's a perfect business idea. We can do it ourself in High 8", Cordelia said and pulled out a video camera. "I'll charm a post-production house into doing the effects and...", she continued and Angel turned around, heading to the elevator.

"Hey! I know a little something about self-promotion, Angel, and I'm telling you one commercial like this could get us out of the red... or the black... or which ever one means we're broke, because that's us. I'm just trying to save your business from going belly up!" Cordelia said after him and scowled as he pulled the gate down and descended to the apartment. "What's his problem?" she griped.

"He's not entirely wrong, you know? All I'm saying is advertising a superhero that can't really go out in the daylight might raise vampire suspicions, not to mention our pesky lack of an investigator's license", Doyle reasoned but Cordelia wasn't happy.

"And who needs a license when we have no clients?" she shot back then turned to Buffy, just thinking something. "And what's the whole business with the sister? Since when have you had a sister?"

"Are you sure you wanna know? It's hellmouthy with monks and memory altering involved", Buffy answered and Cordelia raised her hands in surrender. "Sorry I asked", she sighed.

"I'm gonna go unpack", Buffy said and signed at the stairs before leaving. "What's with the mirrored brooding?" Cordelia asked with a frown.

XXX

"I don't wanna go to class. It's not like I could concentrate on anything anyway", Buffy said like a little child but only got a commanding look from her efforts.

"Buffy, you can't miss more classes", Angel said in a fatherly tone and Buffy frowned. "I could make it up to you", she suggested with a seductive smile and climbed into his lap, circling her arms around his neck and hovering over his lips.

"You need to go to class", Angel reminded her, his eyes fixed on her lips. "You're no fun", she stated with a pout. "I can be lots of fun. Once you get back from school", Angel said and gave her a brief kiss. She sighed deeply and climbed off his lap, picking up her schoolbag.

"It's a good thing we can't have kids, our daughter would really not like you when she would be a teenager", she stated. She pulled on her jacket, grabbed her bag and gave Angel another quick kiss before making her way out.

Angel just looked after her with sad eyes and after a while, pulled his shirt off and started pounding the punching bag. He knew it wasn't right that he kept the forgotten day to himself, he had been considering about telling her since she had been talking about being open about things, but he couldn't tell her that he had given back their chance of ever having children. The thought was constantly in his mind, reminding what they could have had and he couldn't do that to her, especially now that she had found out that her sister was just a creation in her mind.

For over twenty minutes he let out his frustration and sorrow into the punching bag and kept on going even after Doyle came down to the apartment. "Is this a private catharsis or can anyone watch?" he asked but Angel kept on hitting the bag. "What do you want?" he asked not turning to look at him.

"Well, there's a girl upstairs who's not quite sad enough to cry in may arms, but keep up the dark cloud. I might get lucky. Seriously, what's going on? I let you off the hook before because of your lady had series of emergencies back home but you're really getting depressing right now, so start talking", Doyle ordered.

"It's nothing", Angel insisted and hit the bag harder. "It is something, you're even more broodier than normal. Is it about Dawn or the thing you wouldn't tell me about before?"

Finally Angel stopped hitting the bag and grabbed a towel from the chair before sitting on it. "Who are the Oracles, Doyle? Why didn't you tell me about them before?" he asked lifting his gaze to Doyle.

"What? The Oracles? Who told you about the Oracles?" Doyle asked surprised by the question.

"I told you about the Mohra demon that attacked the office. But what I didn't tell you was that the first time the Mohra demon attacked it got away", Angel confessed.

"What you mean the first time?"

"I tracked it, I killed it, some of its blood mixed with mine and it made me mortal. That's when you took me to see the Oracles to find out what it meant", Angel explained but Doyle seemed still confused. "No, you see, I would've remembered a trip to the netherworld of eternal watching. That's just not something that happens every day", he protested.

"The Oracles told me that I was released from my duty. Buffy and I could be together until..." Angel started to say but couldn't finish it, the thought of losing Buffy was something he couldn't even say out loud. "...we realized it couldn't be, I would be too much of a risk to her and she would... So, I went back to the Oracles and I asked them to turn back the clock... as though that day had never happened."

"Human. You were a real boy, and Buffy... you could have had the little kiddies running around, the family you've dreamed of... You had the one thing in your unnaturally long life and you gave it back?!" Doyle asked having hard time believing it.

"Yes. Maybe I was wrong?"

"Or maybe Cordelia was right about you being the real deal in the hero department. See, I would have chosen the pleasures of the flesh over duty and honor any day of the week. Well, you can still get dirty but not the kiddies. I just wouldn't have that kinda strength.", Doyle said still amazed of his sacrifice.

"You never know your strength until you're tested. And mine would really be in the test if she ever found out that I gave my mortality back, she would never forgive me that I messed with her memories", Angel stated getting depressed all over again.

"Sure she would, maybe you'd be sleeping on the couch for few weeks but she'd forgive you. But you had the strength to give something so great back, something you desperately wanted, while I'm still trying to work up the courage to ask Cordy out for dinner. Not to mention the part about telling her that I'm half demon. That should probably come first?"

"Well, the Oracles said something bad is coming. Soldier of Darkness ushering in the end of days kind of bad", Angel said and Doyle frowned. "So much for the security of long term savings bonds, huh?" he joked.

"I feel something coming, Doyle. I don't know what it is, but I know we're a part of it."

XXX

Buffy walked into the office, the day had been terrible, there was no way she could have concentrated on the things the professors talked about, her mind was on Dawn and how soon she could get into researching the demon she faced.

With a weary sigh she walked through the lobby and stopped dead as Cordelia suddenly jumped in front of her looking awfully sympathetic, a sign that sent warning bells ringing in her head. "Are you okay?" she asked and Buffy looked at her like she had spoken in another language.

"I'm fine. Why?" she asked suspiciously. "No reason", Cordelia waved it off and walked away before she revealed too much, Angel would definitely fire her if she told Buffy what Doyle had told her. Buffy looked after the brunette still not understanding what had just happened but she shrugged it off and went down stairs. There he found Angel who was going through his weapons.

"Hey", she said and he turned around. "Hey." With few long strides he was in front of her and he pulled her into a passionate kiss. "Wow. I take it you missed me", she said breathlessly as he pulled away. "Always", he smirked.

Buffy glanced around her at the scattered weapons and then turned to Angel. "What's going on and why did Cordelia give me the pitying sympathy look?"

"What did she tell you?" he asked with chills running up and down his spine, surely Cordelia didn't tell her anything, she wouldn't have kissed him like that if she knew about the day.

"Just asked if I'm alright with a big weirdness factor", Buffy answered with a frown, was Angel looking paler than usual? "Doyle had a vision. We're heading out as soon as it's dark", he told her, hoping it was enough to distract her from Cordelia's blunder.

"What did he see?" she asked going to business, they could talk about Cordelia's weird behavior later. "People hiding from something, he said they were terrified", Angel answered. Buffy nodded solemnly and glanced at the clock.

"It's still some time till sundown, maybe we could dip into the books and look if there's something about the woman... demon... what ever she was, that's after Dawn."

"That's a good idea", Angel stated and they went to the books, gathering stack to the table before settling down to go through them.

XXX

After the sunset they hadn't found anything useful on the books but it was time to head out. They found the place Doyle had seen in his vision, the building was barely standing. "Pretty low rent, even by demon standards", Doyle stated looking around himself. There was holes in the walls and it looked like it could give out at any moment.

"You said they were hiding. It's a good place for it", Angel stated and they walked into a room that still had food on the table. "Signs of life", Doyle commented as he looked around, heading towards the table.

"I smell something", Angel said and sniffed the air. Buffy turned to look at him, then looked around herself. "What?" she asked. "The food's still warm. They left in a hurry", Doyle said as he tasted the food with his fingertips.

"No, not food. It's fear", Angel stated and crouched down on the floor, sweeping a carpet away. Doyle and Buffy gathered around the trap door and Angel pulled it open, reveling a group of scared demons.

"Don't be afraid, we're here to help", Buffy said softly. Doyle and Angel offered their hand and helped the demons out of the hiding place. Some of them settled back to eating still not knowing what to think of the strangers. The last to be helped out of the small space was obviously the leader. He led the group away from the others as the both parties explained what they were doing there.

"...We gave all our money to a man who promised to get us passports and safe passage on a ship. It was stupid of us. He disappeared with our money and the ship never came", the man finished.

"Where were you going?" Angel asked. "Briole. It's a small island off the coast of Ecuador. Others of our kind have found sanctuary there", the man explained.

"Sanctuary from what?" Buffy asked the question he knew they all wanted and needed to know. Before the man could answer, two younger demons rushed through the door, heading straight to the man they were talking to. "They're close. They almost got us. We lost half of our supplies", the other teen explained.

"Rieff, we have a guest. It's the promised one", the elder demon said and looked at Angel. "Terrific", Rieff stated sarcastically.

"I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding", Angel said clearly uncomfortable in his new calling. "Oh, I don't think so. Many of our prophecies are cryptic, but on one thing they are all clear. In the final days of this century the promised one will appear and save us from the Scourge", the older demon said.

"Another prophecy", Buffy mumbled to herself as Angel directed to the demon, "The Scourge?"

"He doesn't even know who they are. How's he supposed to protect us from them?!" Rieff questioned signing at Angel. "They're coming and no matter how many promised guys you throw at them, they're not going to stop until every last one of us is dead. You're going to get us all killed", he continued and walked away. "He's still young. Excuse me", the older demon apologized and went after the teen.

Angel turned to look at Doyle who had gone to stand by a window, clearly lost in glum thoughts. Angel went to him. "What is it?" he asked. "The Scourge", Doyle stated.

"You know them. What are they?"

"Death", Doyle stated with fear evident in his eyes. "Death?" Buffy questioned moving closer.

"I've seen them happen before, when I was just found out I was a half demon, a Brachen demon came for my help, asking me to hide a bunch of them. He was scared, the Scourge was after them. I had no idea what it was, he told me they are a army of pure-blooded demons, hunting all of us that have human blood in us. They're very much into the pedigree. Hunts us down like animals", Doyle told them.

"Doesn't anyone fight back?" Buffy asked with a frown.

"They do. All the time. But it's not much use, these guys believe in what they're doin' and they're ready to die for the cause."

"It's hard to fight fanatics", Angel stated. "More like impossible", Doyle added.

"What happened?" Buffy encouraged him to continue.

"I punked out. I'd only just learned that I wasn't entirely human. I didn't know what it meant, I wasn't ready for a big family reunion. The idea of having family obligations with guys that looked like big blue pincushions, it was just a little bit too much to take right then."

"And what happened then?" Angel asked and Doyle looked away with shame written all over his face. "I had my first vision. I thought I was having a stroke, I didn't know what the images meant. But I had to know if what they showed me was a dream... or real. And it was definitely not a dream. They were butchered"

"You couldn't have known", Angel tried but Doyle shook his head. "These people are going to need more then their mythic promised one. The contractually-obligated 500 might be a start. You can't fight the Scourge, Angel, neither can the Slayer."

"It won't come to that because we're going to get them out of here", Angel stated but Doyle didn't seem to believe it was the answer on stopping them. "We're gonna beat them, Doyle. We're not gonna let some fascists win", Buffy added.

XXX

Buffy and Doyle waited for Cordelia to come with a truck while Angel went to talk to a guy he knew. There was a female voice in the hallway and they both knew it had to be Cordelia. Buffy and Doyle hurried to the hallway where Cordelia was pointing, what looked like a breath freshener at the demons.

Doyle quickly passed the group of demons. "Cordy! It's okay. We're here to help them."

Cordelia looked at the demons and put the bottle away, giving them a polite smile. "Oh. Hi!" Then she turned to Buffy more sternly. "Where's Angel?"

"He's trying to secure documents to get them out of the country. Did you get the truck?" Doyle answered for her.

"Yes, it's out front. Hey, did you two notice that these folks are demons?" she questioned and looked at them like the two had lost their minds. "We know that. But that doesn't make them bad people", Doyle defended. "Excuse us a sec", Cordelia said to the demons and grabbed Buffy and Doyle, pulling them into another room.

"Mission statement check, aren't we supposed to be battling the forces of darkness? And you're the slay-gal, aren't you supposed to be pummeling them with your fists?"

"They're not forces of darkness. They're half-human, and they're in trouble. Now, we don't have a lot of time. Angel wants you two to go down to the LA harbor, pier 12, slip 4, the Quintessa. Use Angel's name. He knows the Captain", Doyle told Cordelia.

"So we're booking them on a cruise?" she asked confused. "Something like that", Buffy answered. "I'm guessing not Carnival", Cordelia commented.

"The guy that Angel's talking to runs a freighter. He owes Angel some money and if he does this, they're even", Doyle explained and Cordelia turned sharply to look at him, pointing her finger at him. "Hey, hang on! This guy owes Angel money? Why aren't we collecting it?" she questioned and Buffy couldn't help but roll her eyes, Cordelia always had her priorities straight.

"Cordy, oppressed demon people here, they're not getting any safer! We need to know the ship is ready before we can move everyone", Doyle reminded her and she let out a weary sigh. "Bad things are coming aren't they?" It was more of a statement than a question. "Very bad things", Doyle confirmed.

"Cordy, go to the pier and we'll look after these people. And please hurry", Buffy said to Cordelia who for once didn't question her and left. Buffy and Doyle returned to the others, just in time to hear the leader say that Rieff had ran off.

"I'm gonna go after him", Doyle said and handed Buffy his cellphone. "Wait for Cordy's call and get these people to the harbor, I'll bring the kid there", he said to her.

"Doyle", she started to protest but he shook his head. "No, I have to go. You have the strength to look after these people, to keep them safe.. I'll bring him to the harbor", he interrupted her and grudgingly she nodded her head. Doyle crouched next to the little girl and asked where the boy might have went.

XXX

Buffy got the call from Cordelia and she helped loading the demons into the truck. Once again she looked around herself before turning to the older demon. "Can you drive?" she asked.

"Yes, but..." he started to answer but she interrupted him. "Then take them to the harbor. I'll go after Doyle. And I'm a lousy driver anyway." The demon nodded and got into the car. Buffy waited till she couldn't see the truck anymore before she sprinted into run.

She slowed down as she heard loud yelling, she pinned against the wall of one of the buildings and looked as Doyle ran though the street with herd of demons following. He was in his demon form so Buffy figured he was using himself as a bait. She was about to go and help him but she stopped as she saw him being yanked into one of the buildings. The brief glimpse of a leather jacket and the tingling in her being was enough to tell that it had to be Angel. As the demons went inside the building, she used the opportunity to sneak into where the runaway was. He was so absorbed in watching the street that he didn't even notice her stepping into the room. But then he turned around and was about to yelp in surprise but Buffy was quickly in front of him and she pressed her hand to his mouth so he wouldn't make a sound. The boy calmed down as he realized who she was.

Few minutes later they saw the group of demons escorting Angel out of the building and it took everything in her not to go out and help him. But she restrained herself, she figured he had a plan since he could've taken the demons out, it wasn't like they were carrying stakes or bottles of gasoline.

"Angel, you better know what you're doing", she mumbled under her breath. She crossed the street with the teenager following and they entered the building. Cautiously she led the way and her breath caught in her throat as she saw Doyle laying on the floor with his neck in a weird angle.

"Is he..." Rieff started to ask but then Doyle's eyes suddenly opened. He sat up and groaned. "Man, I think I hate that plan", he stated and wrung his neck back into place.

"Doyle! You scared me!" Buffy accused and slapped him. "Auw!" Doyle protested, rubbing the place where she had hit him. "Go easy on me, I just got my neck broken by your boyfriend, I don't need a broken arm", he said and tried to look innocent. She gave him a scolding look but helped him up to his feet anyway.

"Where's Angel?"

"He did a little infiltrating", Doyle answered and Buffy scowled. "He's so gonna be sleeping on the couch tonight. That's dangerous!" she griped.

Doyle let out a short chuckle and shook his head. "Alright, let's get this kid to the harbor, he's got a cruise to catch."

XXX

Buffy, Doyle and Rieff ran to the ship where Cordelia and the elder demon were waiting for them. "You're alive", Cordelia stated after Rieff had been led down with the others. "And you're not happy?" Doyle questioned.

"We were worried."

"Well, its all going to be okay", Doyle assured her and suddenly Cordelia slapped him. He looked at the brunette surprised. "What was that for?" he questioned and Cordelia gave him a hard stare.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were half demon? I thought we agreed that secrets are bad! And did you know about it?!" she shot and turned to glare at Buffy who raised her arms in surrender and took a step back. "Leave me out of this."

"I wanted to tell you. I was afraid. I thought if I did you'd reject me", Doyle explained and Cordelia seemed to soften up a little.

"I've rejected you way before now! So, you're half demon. Big Whoop! I can't believe you'd think I'd care about that. I mean, I work for a vampire! Hello!?"

"It's true. I just..." Doyle didn't get to say more when Cordelia interrupted him. "What do you think I am, superficial?!" she demanded and Buffy had to bite her tongue not to say anything to that. "So you're half demon. That's so far down the list, way under short and poor! Is there anything else I should know?"

"The half demons thing is pretty much my big secret", Doyle confessed.

"Good, now that's done. Would you ask me out to dinner already?" Cordelia said with a big smile. "Finally", Buffy sighed but neither of them payed any attention to her.

"Cordelia... Would you like to..." Doyle started but their attention was steered to the land when Angel drove to the pier on a old motorcycle. "Angel", Buffy whispered in relief as he ran up the bridge to the ship.

"We have to shove off now", he informed them. "What's going on?" Buffy asked.

"We can't! I can't find my first mate!" the captain protested. "And you won't. We need to leave right now. Get to the bridge", Angel ordered.

"They're here", Doyle pointed out as the group drove to the pier. "Get below. Lock the doors. Now!" Angel ordered. Doyle and Cordelia ran to the others while Buffy stayed by his side.

"Buffy, go with the others", he said but she showed no signs of leaving him. "No, I'm staying right here with you", she insisted. "Buffy, go keep them safe", he said and she could see he was serious. She didn't like it but she did it anyway, he could take care of himself but the demons below couldn't.

Angel turned to look at the demons climbing to the ship. "You lied to us, half-breed", the demon accused. "You catch on quick, footballhead", Angel shot back. "Kill him. Painfully", the demon commanded and a group of demons attacked Angel who held his own easily.

As the minions were down, the leader attacked him. After a strong fight, the demon tackled him, sending them both stumbling down the stairs of the cargo hall. Angel jumped to his feet and tried to fight him off but they fell over the railing down to a lower staircase. He started to rise when his eyes landed on the device, already lit.

"It's going to detonate. Get out! Everybody out!" he yelled to the others and the demon behind him grabbed him and started choking him. "Welcome to a cleaner world. Soon only the pure bloods will be left standing", the demon boaster. Angel swatted his hands off his neck and grabbed him. "Actually, pure boy, you'll be on your ass", he stated and broke the demons neck.

"The doors are locked from the outside. We're trapped!" Doyle yelled. Buffy tried kicking the door but it didn't cause more than a small dent. Buffy, Doyle and Cordelia hurried up to the platform.

"What does that thing do?" Doyle asked afraid of the answer. "Its light kills anything with human blood", Angel answered glumly.

"Well, it's getting brighter and that doohickey... it's fully armed, isn't it?"

"Almost. If I pull the cable, I think I can still shut it off", Angel said and Buffy grabbed his arm turning him to look at her. "And how are you going to do that without touching the light?" she asked fear evident in her voice. Angel didn't answer, act that only increased her fear of the answer.

"Angel, that's suicide", Cordelia protested. "There's got to be another way", Doyle added but Angel shook his head. "There isn't."

"No!" Buffy yelled and shook him, tears were already forming in her eyes. "Shhh... It's okay", he whispered and pulled her into a kiss, pouring into it all the love that he had for her. As he pulled away, she didn't have time to react as he hit her hard enough for her to loose consciousness. He caught her before she fell and handed her to Cordelia.

"Tell her I love her", he said to her and turned to Doyle, laying his hand on his friends shoulder and giving it a small squeeze.

"The good fight, yeah? You never know until you've been tested. I get that now", Doyle said and without warning hit Angel. He fell over the railing landing to the cargo hall floor. Doyle turned to Cordelia, took a step closer to her and kissed her gently. He pulled away, looking at her with sad eyes, tears were running down her face.

"Too bad we'll never know..." he started to say and morphed into his demon visage. "...if this is a face you could learn to love."

Angel was already running up the ladder and yelling him to stop but as he reached the platform, Doyle jumped over the railing and grabbed a hold of the device.

Buffy started to come to and first her eyes landed on Angel, the relief was only temporary as she saw Doyle. "Doyle! No!" Angel yelled but he only smiled at them and turned back to his human form as he pulled at the cable.

"No", Cordelia choked out, she wanted to scream but couldn't find her voice through the constricting feeling on her throat.

Doyle pulled the cable apart, right before he disappeared in a burst of light and the device went dark. Everyone just stared at where Doyle had just been seconds ago. Angel turned to look at the two women in his life, they both were crying openly. He took a step closer to them and pulled them both into his arms.

.

To be continued...

* * *

**A/N:** I'm sorry for what happened to Doyle but I'm pretty much going with how the show goes (went). I really love Doyle and I seriously tried to find a way to keep him alive but it would have messed a lot with the canon and what I had planned for him later. What happened to him will have a major part with the future chapters but I promise you (hopefully not revealing too much) that this was not the last appearance he made in this fic.


	11. Gift

**A/N:** Once again, Thank you to all the readers and special thanks to those who left reviews. And to Princesakarlita411's question, I'm not sure yet if Darla will be in this fic, since the resurrection was in the last episode of Angel season 1, so... If anyone has any suggestions about that (if you want her to join in or not), let me know.

* * *

Chapter 11: Gift

Buffy jumped to her feet as Angel got in through the trap door. "What did they say?" she asked even though she could see from Angel's expression that it hadn't been successful.

"That they won't bring him back to life just because he's my friend. And something about doors", he answered and sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh. Buffy sat next to him and wrapped her arm around him, slowly stroking his hair. "I'm sorry", she whispered. He turned to look at her, not saying anything, he entwined their fingers and pulled her into a brief, gentle kiss.

"I better go check on Cordelia", he stated and she nodded her head in understanding.

"You do that. And I'll work on my homework, not that it's much use, my brain is scattered."

Angel headed upstairs where he found Cordelia looking at the coffee mugs with scrutiny. "Cordelia, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing", Cordelia shrugged it off, then turned back to him. "Looking for Doyle's special coffee mug", she confessed. "Doyle didn't have special coffee mug", Angel stated confused of where she was going with that.

"Don't you think he should have? I guess I just thought it would make me feel better if I could hold something tangible that he left behind. Some evidence he was here? But there is nothing. Almost like... like he never…" she said painfully but was interrupted by Angel.

"Cordelia, get out."

"What?" Cordelia demanded turning her full focus on Angel.

"I mean,out of the office. Take the day off, go live your life a little bit. Buffy and I will manage here", he explained.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Angel", Cordelia accused and pointed her finger at him. "What am I doing?" he asked once again confused by her.

"You're trying to push me away, close yourself off!"

"That's not what…" he started to protest but was interrupted by her.

"Well I've got news for you, broody boy. We're all we've got now. You may not like sharing your grief with others, but that's the normal, healthy way people deal with loss. I'm not going anywhere, and neither is Buffy so get used to it. I'm staying right here!" Her watch beeper went off. "Gotta go. Commercial audition. If it wasn't a national I'd totally blow it off", she explained and started gathering her thing and headed to the door.

"If you don't feel up to it then don't go, stay here."

"Reverse psychology. Very cute but don't worry. I'm going."

"I'm not…" Angel tried to say, Cordelia was so confusing sometimes. "But don't get any ideas. I'm coming back!" she insisted at the door and waved her finger at him accusingly.

She opened the door and shrieked as she came face to face with a demon. "You scared the heck out of me!" the demon sighed and Cordelia looked at it like it said something strange. "I scared you? Have you looked in the mirror lately?" she shot back.

"Every chance I get", the demon answered adjusting his jacket before directed his gaze to Angel and passing Cordelia. "You're him, right? You're the guy, the... the vampire with a soul, right?" he questioned.

"I'm Angel", Angel confirmed. The demon jumped back as Buffy came running through the apartment door with a battle ax in her hands. "Wow!" he yelped.

Angel turned around to look at Buffy and gave her a assuring look, grudgingly she lowered the ax. "I heard a scream", she stated.

"That would have been me, this horn-head nearly ran into me in the door", Cordelia said and cast a accusing look to the demon.

"Can we focus on my problem?" the demon grouched out and turned back to Angel. "You gotta help me! Please... I mean that's what you do, right? You help the helpless? You protect the, what do you call them? The the... helpless?"

"Something like that", Angel stated. "You want me to stay?" Cordelia asked from the door. "It's okay. Buffy and I will manage", Angel assured her.

"Break a leg", the demon said to Cordelia who sent him another weird look.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sensing a little performance anxiety here. Little trick, picture everybody…"

"...In their underwear. I've heard it before", Cordelia finished for him.

"I was going to say dead. But hey, if that underwear thing works for you…" the demon said flippantly and with a disgusted look directed at his way, Cordelia left.

"So what's the problem?" Angel asked as they went to the office, he sat behind his desk as Buffy lingered by the door.

"Call me Barney. First off you should know right away before there is any misunderstanding. I'm a demon", Barney said. "I appreciate the candor", Angel stated dryly.

"Yeah, we could've never figured that one", Buffy said from the door, the ax still hanging loosely in her hand. "Nice ax", Barney commented. "Thanks", Buffy said with a smile.

"Secondly. I just realized it's 3:45 in the afternoon. If you're a vampire, why aren't you in your coffin?" Barney asked and Buffy snickered as she saw Angel getting peeved.

"Coffin. I hate that stereotype", he muttered and turned to the potential client. "You're a demon and you don't know anything about vampires?"

"Only what I've learned from TV", Barney answered innocently and Buffy let out a giggle before she could suppress it.

"Vampires don't sleep in coffins. It's a misconception made popular by hack writers and ignorant media. In fact you know, we can and do move around during the day as long as we avoid direct sunlight. Got it?" Angel lectured getting riled up.

"Got it. Sorry, I didn't mean to push any sore spots", Barney apologized and then turned to look at Buffy. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm getting the whole slayer vibe from you..."

"You're not wrong", Buffy stated and Barney's head whipped from her to Angel and back to her again.

"If you're the Slayer and he's a vampire, why aren't you... you know, slaying him?"

"I think me trying to kill my boyfriend would be a bit of a damper to our relationship."

"Now I've heard it all. A vampire dating a slayer, oh man. She's not what I expected from a slayer. But she is cute, I'll give you that."

Angel cleared his throat and gave Barney a warning look. "The possessive type I see", Barney stated.

"You said you needed help", Angel steered the topic back to the reason why he was there, he didn't feel like talking about Buffy with the demon.

"Some guy is after me, been following me for a while now."

"Do you know who it is?"

"I don't know. But who ever he is, he's unstoppable, like a machine, been on my tail for a few states ever since Phoenix. I pulled out all the stops to shake him but he just keeps on coming."

"What makes you think he means you harm?" Angel questioned. "I don't think he's tracking me down to tell me that I've won the Publishers' Clearing House. He's an assassin", Barney shot back sarcastically.

"A demon?" Buffy asked from the door.

"Could be. He knows all the haunts and hangouts. It seems wherever I go he's just a step or two behind. You know, it's a miracle that I've eluded him this long", Barney answered.

"Why you?" Angel asked and Barney tried to look innocent.

"What you mean?"

"Who are you? Why he's after you?"

"That's what I'm saying. I'm nothing, I'm a nobody. I'm just a guy trying to get by in this world. No different from anybody else!" Barney defended himself. "I can tell one difference", Buffy stated.

"In my experience, when one is being pursued that tenaciously, it's generally because the pursuer has a strong grievance against the pursued", Angel said and Barney shrugged innocently.

"Hey man, I never said I was a Boy Scout. I'm an empath demon. I can read emotions. It gives me a slight advantage at cards, you know, black Jack, poker. Oh and it's also good for the fights."

"So you're just a cheat", Buffy stated bluntly.

"I'd like to think of it as going with my strengths. Hey, I'm a demon, I'm evil", he said in a casual manner. "But I'm not, you know. Evil!"

XXX

Angel sensed someone nearing and he lifted his gaze off the papers he was looking into. Cordelia approached him with a strange look on her face and before he could say anything, she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Despite being stunned by the kiss, he gently pushed her away and looked at her awkwardly.

"Um, Cordelia... I think that you're acting out of grief and you're confused right now..." he started to say but then they both noticed Buffy standing at the door, looking hurt and angry.

"What's going on here?" she demanded with a hard tone. Cordelia glanced at Angel who was having hard time getting words out of his mouth, and then she directed her gaze back to Buffy.

"Oh, well, you're already a freak and it's not like I'm going to college anyway", she said to herself shrugging her shoulders and started approaching Buffy who took several steps back as she saw the look in Cordelia's face.

"Okay, stop!" she said and held her hands up to stop Cordelia from coming any closer. "I repeat myself, what's going on here?" she asked this time more confused than anything, the anger gone completely.

"Ugh! I didn't feel anything with him, that means I still have it! Damn, I can't believe he did this to me!" Cordelia said all but stomping her foot to the ground. "Who did what?" Buffy asked confused, voicing the question in Angel's mind.

"Doyle! I thought our kiss meant something, and instead he... he used that moment to pass it on to me! Why couldn't it have been mono or herpes!"

"Cordelia, what are you talking about?" Angel asked just as confused as Buffy was.

"I didn't ask for this responsibility! Unlike some people, who shall remain lifeless! I don't have anything to atone for, I'm not the chosen one to hang out in the cemeteries all her life. If they know what's good for them the PTB better just stay out of my head!" Cordelia kept on going like no one had said anything in the between.

"The Powers That Be? You had a vision?" Angel asked and Cordelia shot him a look like he had said something stupid.

"Boy! Howdy! And guess what, you know how they look painful?! Well, they feel a whole lot worse!"

"Another door opens. You're my link to the Powers now", Angel stated thoughtfully, stunned by the news.

"Hey, I'm nobody's link to anybody. I lost control of my entire nervous system getting that stupid vision. And I'm not certain, but I think I may have drooled a little at the first audition I've had in weeks!"

"What was it?" Angel asked grabbing a notepad. "Ah, stain-be-gone, it was a national no less. They probably never call me again!" Cordelia answered with a frown. "The vision! What was the vision?" Angel asked getting impatient.

"Pfft! Who knows. It was a thing."

"A thing?" Buffy questioned, joining into the conversation, still stunned by what had happened in so few minutes.

"An ugly, gray, blobby thing. What difference does it make?"

"The difference is if you saw it in a vision it could be an ugly, gray, blobby, dangerous thing!" Angel explained.

"I don't care, I want it out of me! And if kissing is the only way to get rid of it I will smooch every damn frog in this kingdom!" Cordelia threatened fiercely. At that moment Barney walked through the door. "Sorry. I thought I heard voices", he stated.

"Barney, you remember my associate Cor..." Angel started to introduce her when she stalked to Barney and pulled him into a kiss. Both Buffy and Angel gave a queasy look at the act. Cordelia pulled away grimacing and still not feeling the same she had felt with Doyle.

"Maybe not every frog", she stated and wiped her mouth, trying not to heave.

"Boy! I gotta say, I like the way you people treat your clients!" Barney said slapping his hands together. "Excuse me", Cordelia said still wiping her mouth and she made her way to Angel and Buffy as Barney walked to another room.

"He's a client?" she questioned. "Apparently someone or something is after him", Angel explained. "That ugly, gray blobby thing?" Cordelia asked with raised eyebrows.

"You tell me. Try sketching it. In the mean time, Barney would probably feel safer down stairs. Babysit him until we get back."

"Why can't Buffy babysit him?"

"Because Buffy is going with Angel to check out his apartment", Buffy answered. "He thinks whatever is chasing him knows where he lives", Angel added.

Buffy looked at Cordelia uncertainly. "Cordy", she started and the girl in question turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "You weren't going to... you know... kiss me, were you?" she asked awkwardly.

"If that's what it takes to get rid of this thing, then yeah."

"O-okay", Buffy choked out and quickly made her way to the other room to get her weapons. Angel went to follow his girlfriend but he stopped at the door and turned to Cordelia. "Hey, and behave yourself. I don't want to find you and Barney necking on the couch when we get back", he said and Cordelia shot him a annoyed look.

XXX

Angel and Buffy stopped in front of the building, checking the address from a slip of paper. "I'll go around the back if something comes running through there", Buffy said and Angel nodded.

"Okay, be careful, we don't know what the thing is", he cautioned her and she rolled her eyes with a small smile.

"Yes, daddy", she teased and started walking away.

Angel shook his head while watching her walk away, and he went into the building as soon as she had disappeared around the corner. Angel went to the right floor in an elevator and cautiously made his way to the apartment door. He spun around as another door opened but he relaxed as he noticed it was just the maid. After she was gone, he opened the door and was about to step in when someone or something pushed him inside. He turned to look at the person who was standing at the doorway with a crossbow pointed at him, his face in the shadows.

"Hello, Angel", said a British voice and the person stepped forward, revealing Wesley. He stepped into the room, still holding the crossbow pointed at Angel. "Wesley", Angel greeted, relaxing and putting his hands into his pockets.

"I wager you thought, you'd never see me again", Wesley said.

"To tell you the truth I hadn't given it much thought one way or the other. What are you…" Angel stated feeling amused by his appearance.

"Upupup! I'm the one asking the questions here. I think it only fair to warn you, any sudden movement and I'd be forced to…" Wesley said and at that moment, Angel swatted the crossbow out of his hands. "Right. You had a question?" Wesley played off the humiliation of loosing his upper hand so easily.

"Wesley?" came Buffy's incredulous voice from the door and the two men turned to look at her. As her eyes settled on the leather outfit Wesley was wearing, she couldn't help but laugh, even Angel was trying to suppress a smile from surfacing.

"Miss Summers", Wesley replied not being able to hide his surprise of seeing her.

"That's a new look for you. All... leathery", Buffy said with a smirk. "Motorcycle. The Watchers Council trying out a new image?" Angel continued.

"In point of fact I no longer work for the Council. I came to the conclusion that I was of greater value to the cause working autonomously", he said proudly and trotted to the bed, lifting his leg to the edge trying to take a casual pose but his leg slipped off.

"They fired you too", she stated, amusement clear in her voice.

"Hardly. With you unwilling to follow Council orders there was simply no opportunity to function as Watcher. And that's why I became a rogue demon hunter."

"You're a demon hunter?" Angel asked finding it hard to believe.

"You scare them off by screaming like a girl?" Buffy asked with raised eyebrows but was ignored.

"I'm a **Rogue** demon hunter", Wesley pointed out. "And I'm on the trail of a particularly nasty bugger right now. So, I suggest you stay out of my way."

"Easy, tiger. I think you might be making a mistake. If we're talking about the same demon here, he seems pretty harmless to me", Angel tried to calm him down, not loosing the humor of the matter.

"He's left a trail of corpses, human and demon, all mutilated. Each of the victims possessed some unique power. Telepathy, poison tongues, healing hands. Whatever the physical source of their power was, it was ripped, gouged, torn from their corpses."

"He's collecting powers", Angel stated.

"For what purpose I can only guess. The fiend has cut a swath across half the continent. I almost caught up with it in Phoenix. Got a pretty fair look at it too."

"Kinda short, ruddy skin and tacky clothes?" Buffy asked and Wesley raised his brows in question.

"Short? No. On the contrary, quite enormous, and powerful. More of a yellow-green. And it seems lately to be secreting some sort of viscous, yellow fluid", Wesley answered taking a casual pose against a drawer.

"Like that?" Angel asked as a drop of yellow goo landed on Wesley's shoulder. They all looked up and saw the demon holding himself against the ceiling. They jumped back as the demon dropped down and grabbed Wesley, throwing him against the wall and hitting him before throwing him across the room. Angel attacked the demon but they were fairly evenly matched.

Buffy grabbed her crossbow from the floor and tried to aim at the demon but it always managed to put Angel on the way. Finally Buffy sighed in irritation and dropped the crossbow before jumping in to help. She punched the demon but it knocked her down with its elbow and hit Angel hard enough to send him staggering to the wall. Buffy swept its feet from under it and tried to slam her foot against its face but it grabbed her leg and threw her against Angel who had just got up to his feet. The demon jumped up and started approaching the couple when Wesley grabbed his crossbow and shot a arrow to its shoulder. With a growl, the demon jumped through the window and started running along the road. Angel helped Buffy to her feet and they went to the window.

"I guess we should go back to the apartment, find out what that thing was", Buffy stated. "Yeah", Angel nodded and grabbing Buffy's crossbow from the floor, they headed to the door with Wesley following.

XXX

The group returned to the apartment. Wesley looked around himself as they walked through the office area. "So you two are running a private investigators office", he stated.

"Angel does, I'm just the college student", Buffy corrected.

"You're in college?" Wesley questioned clearly surprised.

"You don't need to sound so surprised", Buffy mumbled with a frown.

"Ah, forgive me. It's just that no slayer has ever went to university", he said noticing how his words must have sounded like.

"No slayer before me has had a life", Buffy shot back, knowing full well she had broken every rule there was about being a slayer.

"Umm... Yes, they have been more focused on their calling."

They went downstairs and as soon as they were in sight, Barney jumped to his feet. "That's him!" he accused pointing at Wesley and started to shift off the room. "Look, Barney…" Angel tried but he wasn't ready to listen. "That's the guy that's after me!" he exclaimed and sprinted into run.

"The books are over there", Angel said to Wesley, pointing at the room where the bookshelves were and went after Barney.

"Good Lord. Cordelia? Angel nor Buffy never mentioned… Well, this is a nice", Wesley started to say as he saw Cordelia sitting in the room. She got up to her feet and as soon as she reached Wesley, she pulled him into a kiss. Buffy shifted on her feet, feeling uncomfortable and looked at anything but at the couple. Wesley wrapped his arms around Cordelia and pulled her flush against his body, deepening the kiss. After a while, she pulled back. "...surprise", Wesley finished what he had been saying.

"It didn't work!" Cordelia stated frustrated.

"No? Umm. I thought it went considerably better than last time", Wesley protested her words.

"No, it was just a kind of experiment. I was trying to…" Cordelia started to explain, then truly realizing who it was. "Wesley? What are you doing here? Are you working with Angel and Buffy?" she questioned.

"A lone wolf, such as myself, never works with anyone. I'm merely allowing them to assist me", Wesley boasted buffing his chest out and Buffy couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes at him.

"Wow", Cordelia sighed. "I am a rogue demon hunter now", Wesley stated and again Cordelia gave him a dreamy look.

"Wow", she sighed again, but then scrunched her face in confusion. "What's a rogue demon?" Buffy giggled and walked past the couple.

Angel returned with Barney and Wesley used the moment to go look into the books. "So what you're telling me is that all this time your friend wasn't hunting me, he was hunting something else that was hunting me? And that something else was after me because…" Barney questioned.

"It wants to steal your empathic ability", Angel answered and Cordelia walked closer raising her eyebrows in question. "The feeling feelings thing? What kind of demon would do that to another demon?" she questioned.

"A Kungai", Wesley answered walking into the room with one of Angel's books. "The description matches. It's of Asian origin, very deadly. A powerful race of demon's, the Kungai possess a Tak horn, capable of consuming its opponents life force. We're lucky to have escaped with our lives", he continued and raised his gaze from the book, slightly alarmed.

"I know theses Kungai's. They're killers, they're relentless. You guys have to take this thing out before it finds me", Barney said all but grabbing Angel's jacket labels in panic.

"I'm working on it but I have to find it first", Angel reassured him and walked to Wesley, grabbing the book but Wesley wasn't ready to let it go. Angel tucked the book to his way as Wesley pulled it back to him.

"Men and their toys", Buffy muttered and rolled her eyes at the couple. Finally Angel pulled the book to his way and Wesley let go of it, clearly not happy.

"Hang on. It's of Asian origin. Earlier today I tracked it through an Asian district just north of here", Wesley stated thoughtfully. "That's Koreatown", Cordelia helped out.

"It's very likely it's hiding there."

"Then that's where I start looking", Angel said and started to head for the stairs.

"Don't you mean we?" Wesley questioned.

"I work alone, Wesley."

"Don't you mean with me?" Buffy questioned with her hands on her hips and challenging him with her eyes.

"This demon is mine! Angel. I know how to track him, you're not catch him without me by your side", Wesley protested.

"I had someone by my side. He's dead now. I won't let that happen again. I work alone."

Buffy quickly ran the steps to Angel and grabbed a hold of his sleeve. "Hey, I'm coming with you. This kunga demon took us three..." she said rebelliously and then glanced at Wesley. "...two of us easily, so you're not going alone. Wesley can stay with Cordelia and Barney."

Angel wanted to protest but he knew it would be pointless, he could see from her eyes that she was in one of her stubborn streaks. "You don't even know where to begin to look", Wesley protested weakly.

"I have a pretty good idea", Angel stated and left with Buffy following him.

XXX

Angel walked into a Lotus Spa with Buffy following him. "Good evening, Soon. I need some information", Angel said in Korean to the man behind the counter. Buffy just looked at Angel in surprise.

"What kind of a information are you talking about?" the man questioned and glanced at Buffy, deciding she was harmless and didn't seem to understand what they were talking about.

"I heard a Kungai demon came here", Angel stated still speaking in Korean. "Kungai? You must be joking, Angel. They scare away the regulars", the man shot back.

"You don't mind if I take a look around, do you, Soon?"

"You can't come in here, disturbing our customers like this", Soon protested. "Forgive me. I respect you have a business to run", Angel said and pulled out a bill, folding it and discreetly holding it out of view. Soon glanced at the couple before taking the bill.

"He's in the back."

"Show me", Angel said and followed the man to the back. He stopped at a bead curtain and signed at the hallway behind it. "Thank you", Angel said and walked through the curtain.

"I didn't know you could speak Korean", Buffy stated with amazement evident in her voice.

"I'm full of surprises", he stated with a crooked smile. "That you are", she conceded with a similar smile.

They walked through the hallway nearly getting to the end of it as suddenly one of the curtains was pulled back and an ugly gray demon stepped forward. Both Buffy and Angel stepped into fighting stance but the demon just seemed to become embarrassed as he saw Buffy. He adjusted his towel, making sure it securely around his waist as he directed his gaze to Angel.

"Hey, you know where they do the Shiatsu massage?" he asked. Angel blinked couple of times, surprised, before he turned around to walk away. "Sorry", Buffy stated shrugging her shoulders before following Angel.

They stepped into the backroom, finding an old woman tending the Kungai demon that was laying on a table. The woman turned to the couple. "He's dying", she stated in Korean. Angel walked further into the room and grabbed the arrow from the table, sniffing it.

Suddenly the demon grabbed his arm and tried to say something. "I'm sorry, I don't know you're language", he said apologetically.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance. I believe I recognize the dialect", came Wesley's voice from the door. Buffy and Angel turned to look at him, gone was the leather outfit and in its place was a ivory suit.

"Then it's a good thing you happened by", Angel stated. Wesley walked closer and looked at the demon. "I wouldn't have thought the wound I gave him was fatal", he stated.

"It wasn't the arrow. His Tak horn's been broken off", Angel pointed out.

Wesley leaned closer to the Kungai and listened as it tried to speak. "Not stick. No, horn", he translated and lifted his gaze to Angel. "I think he's trying to tell us that his horn was taken", he stated the obvious.

"We got that part already. The question is who took it", Buffy shot at him. Wesley ignored her and directed his attention back to the demon.

"The horn was taken. He said his horn was taken for something, the Klu", he clicked his tongue,"-ka. I'm not familiar with that word." He turned back to the Kungai, translating as it spoke. "Fish. Fish will die. Not Fish. More. He says more will die."

"Yeah, okay. How? Who's doing this?" Angel asked impatiently. Wesley straightened up, giving him a look.

"No good losing patience. He's dying and I'm not exactly fluent."

"Well, try harder, he's not going to be waiting around for you", Buffy said and with a exasperated look Wesley leaned closer to the demon, listening to it.

"Bit to the cherry? Slam the cherry? Oh dear. Stop. Stop the demon? Red... heart... Reader", Wesley interpreted and the demon fell back dying. Wesley straightened up and directed to Angel. "He was trying to describe his killer. Demon, heart, reader."

"Empath demon", Angel stated as the realization hit him.

"Barney. And he's with Cordelia", Buffy continued and the group quickly ran out of the place.

XXX

The three ran down to the apartment, calling Cordelia's name and immediately noting the signs of a struggle. "This is all my fault", Wesley stated.

"We all left her here. None of us knew", Angel said but Wesley wasn't ready to give up the self-blame.

"I should have. All this time I've been tracking the wrong demon. If anything happens to Cordelia because of me…"

"Nothing is going to happen to Cordelia. I won't let it", Angel cut him off, leaving no room for negotiation. Buffy went to the living room as Angel looked around himself in the kitchen. "In case you're wondering, this is me looking for a clue. Feel free to join in any time you want", Angel said but Wesley didn't even seem to hear him as he was absorbed in whipping himself.

"I'm a fool. The Council was right to sack me. Yes, I was fired. I had two, two! Slayers in my care. One turns evil and now vegetates in a coma, the other is a renegade. Fire me? I'm surprised they didn't cut my head off."

"Come on, you weren't much of a watcher, it's better you're trying to find the right thing for yourself. So stop beating yourself up and make yourself useful.", Buffy said and picked up a crumbled piece of paper from the floor.

"I'm useless. A fool. A sniveling great, big…" Wesley kept going.

"Ugly, gray blobby thing", Buffy said to herself as she looked at the drawing, Angel walked to her, looking at it over her shoulder.

"An ugly, gray, blobby thing..." Wesley repeated after her and only then seemed to realize what he was saying. He turned to look at Buffy somewhat insulted. "What?"

"It's a sculpture by Van Gieson, Maiden with Urn", Angel stated pointing at the drawing in Buffy's hands. He picked it up and showed it to Wesley. "Cordelia saw this in a vision, it could be telling us where Barney took her."

"So, we ascertain the sculptures whereabouts, therefor Cordelia's whereabouts, then you two can go rescue her", Wesley said brightening up a little.

"We can go rescue her. We need your help, Wesley. The Kungai said Barney wanted the horn for something, Klu-ka, I don't know the language", Angel pointed out.

Wesley nodded. "I'll look into the books", he stated and went to the other room. Angel went to the computer and started searching for the sculpture as Buffy settled in to sharpening the weapons since she wasn't much into the research.

Wesley walked into the room with one of the books cradled in his hands. "Van Gieson's Maiden with Urn was sold to the Ramsey Hotel Chain in '82. There are twelve hotels between here and San Diego, it's got to be in one of them", Angel informed the others, leaning back with a frustrated sigh.

"I keep running up against a translation for Klu", he clicked his tongue,"-ka, which translates as Caller Sale... Caller.. Caller Sale. Yes, of course! I know what it means!" Wesley said excitedly.

"What?" Angel asked.

"Auction", Wesley stated proudly.

"They're going to auction Cordelia? Who could afford her?" Buffy questioned incredulously. Angel gave her agreeing smirk and picked up the phone. He dialed the number and after a brief discussion, he turned to the others.

"She's held in Hotel Ramsey in here, it recently redecorated", he stated.

"Okay, so that's where we're going", Buffy agreed and directed her gaze to Wesley who was wrapping tape around his leg, almost concealing the knife he was hiding there. "Do I even want to know what he's doing?" she questioned with a frown.

XXX

The three hurried to the hotel and after toughening up one of the workers, they rushed to the room where the auction was held. The room was already being cleaned. "We're too late", Wesley stated but he was ignored as Buffy and Angel sprinted through the room.

They entered the backroom by throwing one of the players through the curtain. "Hank, get the stakes", Barney ordered one of his employees. Buffy and Angel started fighting the guys off as Wesley tried to make his way to Cordelia, he was trying to remove the knife from under the tape but failing miserably.

"Get Cordelia", Angel ordered and Buffy tried to cut herself off the fight as she saw Wesley wasn't doing all so good. But somewhere during the fight, two of the guys had managed to get a hold of Angel while the third tried to stake him.

"Hey!" Buffy yelled angrily and as the man's attention was elsewhere, Angel kicked the stake from his hands and Buffy grabbed the man, tossing him effortlessly across the room. As the fight continued, Buffy kept punishing the men for trying to stake Angel that she had to force herself to remember that they were still human. She glanced at Cordelia and Wesley as she knocked unconscious one of the aggressors, Wesley had managed to free Cordelia and now he was fighting Barney, or at least doing something that looked like fighting.

They managed to knock down the last one of their opponents, just in time to see Cordelia stab Barney and him withering away, leaving only empty clothes to the spot.

"I never doubted you'd find me!" Cordelia exclaimed and wrapped her arms around Angel. She pulled away and made a move to hug Buffy but she took a step back.

"Like I'd try to kiss you again, get over yourself. Besides, I've come to terms with my seeing-self, it's something that Doyle gave to me, a part of himself", Cordelia said with her hands on her hips.

"I guess we should go home", Buffy whispered with a small smile and the group started moving towards the door.

"Are you coming, Wesley?" Angel asked from the door, noticing that Wesley hadn't followed them and was shuffling his feet in the spot where he had been just laying.

"Yes, of course", Wesley said happy that he had been remembered and followed after the others.

XXX

"So, there's nothing out of normal?" Buffy asked on the phone, she was leaning against one of the pilars and watching as Angel cooked. "And anything new about mom? You know how Dawn can't keep anything to herself, it's not like mom would just tell me if she's not feeling good, she doesn't want me to worry. --- Okay, good. --- I'll see you on Friday. --- Yeah, you too, especially now that you own the Magic Shop. --- I'll tell them. Bye", she finished the conversation and hung up the phone.

"Giles says hi", she stated and sat down next to Cordelia on the table. "How is everything?" Angel asked and turned to look at Buffy with concern. She sighed and took a piece of lettuce from the salad bowl, looking at him from under her lashes.

"Everything's okay. They haven't seen anything abnormal. Mom has been in some tests and Dawn is living everyday life like nothings wrong. And they haven't found anything constructive in research", she answered.

"Don't worry, we'll find out what that bitch is, we always do. And then you can kick her ass", Cordelia stated not seemingly worried about the new bad guy. "I hope so", Buffy said and kept nibbling at the lettuce she was holding.

"Come to think of it, don't you have classes today, you said you were attending to university", Wesley said from the door, he was once again dressed in his rouge demon hunter outfit.

"I'm waiting for breakfast before going", Buffy stated and then turned to Angel. "Unless someone gives me a permission to skip today", she said with a almost singsong voice and gave him a crooked smile.

"Oh, come on, you two!" Cordelia exclaimed from next to her, ready to cover her eyes.

"You look fit enough to attend", Angel said. She got up from the table and made her way to the stove where he was standing.

"I could show you how fit I am", she whispered and he turned sharply to look at her.

"Vixen", he accused her and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "But you're going to class", he stated and Buffy gave him a pout.

"See what I have to put up with!" Cordelia said to Wesley and signed at the couple.

"Umm, yes... Well, I must be off then. Who knows when our paths will cross again", Wesley said and shook Angel's hand before giving Buffy a nod of acknowledgment.

"Do you even know where you're headed?" Cordelia asked from the table.

"Us rogue demon hunters rarely do. Wherever evil lurks, wherever the forces of darkness threaten humanity, that's where I'll be", he gave them a proud speech like from a cheesy B-movie.

"Okay. Keep in touch", Cordelia dismissed him.

"Umm.. yes, yes, I will. But now the evil lurking everywhere bids me onwards. So, I go", he stalled and moved towards the steps. "Take care", Cordelia said after him and disappointed he left but only seconds later popped up again.

"No rest for the wicked fighters. Through storm and rain, heat, famine, deep, painful, gnawing hunger, I go", he said watching at the table with freshly cooked food in it.

He turned around to leave but Angel's voice stopped him. "Breakfast?" he suggested and immediately Wesley shed his jacket and made his way to the table. "Why not", he stated as he sat down next to Cordelia.

"One of the perks of the job, after an all-nighter of fighting the lurking evil, we get breakfast", Cordelia stated digging into her food. "When Buffy told me he's a gourmet cook, I didn't believe her. You know, how could a guy who's on a constant liquid diet can be a good cook. But for once, I was wrong."

"Astonishing, really", Wesley added.

"Where's the peanut-butter?" Buffy asked Angel as she reached for the toast.

"Don't talk about peanut butter while I'm present! I know every major movie star has a shrink but I don't want to spend my money on talking about the trauma you two caused me", Cordelia yelped and the couple shared a mischievous look.

.

To be continued...


	12. Night of the living dead

**A/N:** Thank you to all readers and extra thanks for those that left reviews.

* * *

**Chapter 12: Night of the living dead**

Angel could smell the girls terror as she ran away from him and it was intoxicating. The chase, it had been so long since he had a good kill. With quick moves, he was ahead the girl and she ran straight into him, terrified and frozen in fear. He bared his fangs and ran his iron clad finger across her cheek, drawing blood before he violently sank his teeth into her throat.

Angel sat up on the bed, gasping for air that he didn't need. He jumped as he felt a soft hand on his lower back and he spun around to look. He met with Buffy's sleepy but concerned eyes and he made a sad attempt to give her a assuring smile.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice husky from the sleep. "I'm fine, go back to sleep", he said and ran his hand through her hair, images of slicing into the girls skin ran through his mind and he pulled his hand away.

"A nightmare?" she questioned and fully sat up sliding closer to him. He tried to calm himself, he could hear her blood running in her veins and the bloodlust increasing inside of him.

"I'm okay", he assured her and pushed down the demon. "Do you wanna talk about it?" she questioned but he shook his head.

"Are you sure, it might help."

"I'm sure. Let's just go back to sleep. You've got class tomorrow", he said and laid back down pulling Buffy with him and folding her in his arms. He pressed a soft kiss to her head and closed his eyes only for them to snap open again as the images of the girl ran before them.

XXX

Buffy packed her bag while keeping an eye on Angel, he was starting to worry her. He placed the last plate to the drying cabinet and turned around to look at her, he had felt her eyes on his back the whole morning but tried to ignore it.

"You look tired", she stated not succeeding in covering the concern in her voice. "I'm fine", he assured her and turned around, trying to find something to do and keep his mind occupied.

"You keep saying that", she said and went to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at her, she could see the pain in his eyes and it was making her insides twist as if it was her own pain.

"It's just the nightmares. Nothing to worry about", he said and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. She didn't believe it was just ordinary nightmares but she let it go for now, she'd push him later.

"I'm gonna go upstairs, I think I smelled Cordelia making coffee", he said and pulled away from her heading towards the elevator. "Are you sure you want to drink Cordy's coffee?" Buffy questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"It's strong enough to melt a esophagus, so maybe it will wake me up."

"You're braver than I am. I'll come up in a minute, as soon as I have found my psych notes."

"Look under the bed", he said with a smirk and pulled the elevator gate down. "Ha ha!" Buffy said after him but then headed to the bedroom anyway.

Angel stepped out of the elevator looking around but only seeing Cordelia. "Who were you talking to?" he asked, he was sure he had heard more than one voice.

"Nobody. And Wesley. So you remember that license plate we got on that runaway case?" Cordelia answered with a slight frown mixed with a apologetic look. Angel headed straight to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup, just the smell was enough to make him have second thoughts on drinking it.

"I remember you were going to follow up on it", he answered to her question and took a sip from the mug, grimacing at the horrible taste of the liquid.

"No go. The BMV is totally stalker-phobic. And wow, you look half-dead!"

Angel turned to look at her with a strange look, he didn't want to remind her that he was technically dead but she seemed to remember the little fact by herself.

"Which for someone, who's completely dead, would be kind of neat?" she conceded with a shrug. Angel sighed tiredly and gave her a irritated look.

"Maybe you could have police woman run it for us on the Q.T", she suggested innocently. "Kate", Angel stated.

"Bad idea. I think we should avoid keeping contact with her if we can help it", Buffy said while walking into the office.

"Buffy, she is a police officer, she might be able to help."

"She's already pointed a gun at me twice", Buffy stated placing her hands on her hips. "It wasn't her fault..." Angel tried but was interrupted by Buffy.

"Yeah, I know it was during the whole sensitivity thing, you really creeped me out by the way. But that doesn't make me feel any better around her, I don't take it too well when people or vamps threaten to shoot me."

"Yeah, that whole dumbly smiling and constantly hugging Angel really gave me chills too", Cordelia stated.

Buffy laughed but then her eyes landed on the clock. "I have to go. I'll see you later", she said and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before dashing out of the door.

"Are you sure you're okay? I mean for a guy who's 200 plus, you're not usually with the bags", Cordelia questioned and waved her fingers under her eyes. There was something off about him, he looked tired and distracted.

"I'm fine. I'll do this now", Angel said slightly irritated, he grabbed the piece of paper with the license plate number and headed towards the door.

"Angel..." Cordelia started to warn him but Angel spun around loosing his patience and interrupted her.

"Look, I'm fine, Cordelia. All right?!"

"All right", Cordelia conceded pissed that he had just blew up on her. Angel pulled the door open and jumped back as the sun shone in, burning him. He turned to Cordelia somewhat sheepishly. "I'll take the tunnels", he stated and headed back to the elevator.

He walked through the well memorized tunnels to the police station and made his way to Kate's desk.

"Hey", he greeted and her head spun to look at him, again he had managed to sneak up on her. "Angel. Hi", she responded wanting to slap herself for sounding like a gushing schoolgirl.

"I need a favor."

"Sort of figured that. What do you need?" She sighed inwardly, of course he was there just because he wanted a favor.

"A license plate", he stated and handed her the piece of paper. She glanced at it, then lifted her gaze back to his.

"You know I'm not supposed to release that kind of information to a civilian, Angel", she said. "I know", Angel stated with a acknowledging nod. She let out a audible sigh.

"If it were anyone else..." She let the sentence hang in the air.

"I appreciate it, Kate."

"I know you do. I'll run it myself. To be honest, I won't mind getting my head out of this case. Even for a minute", she said rubbing her forehead and signing absently at the case file on the desk.

"Tough one?"

She breathed deeply and opened the file. "The first victim, Reggie Sparks volunteered as a crossing-guard. Jinny Markem just started the tenth grade and Jessica Halpren, 25, worked as a waitress. And what do they all have in common? What he did to them. That's all." She getting frustrated with the case, it was going nowhere and she didn't like not being in control.

A female officer walked to Kate's desk and handed her a new file. "Here are the crime scene photos you wanted", she stated before walking away. Kate thanked her and ran through the folder.

Angel stepped closer and looked at the photos in front of him, the dead woman's terrified face flashed in front of his eyes, he could almost smell the blood. He didn't even notice that Kate was talking till he managed to pull himself together.

"Pretty grim, isn't it? I've spent the last 48 hours putting together a suspect profile and believe me, being inside this guy's head hasn't been a whole lot of fun. The tabloids are calling him the Pope. Probably thinks he's doing God's work."

Angel didn't take his eyes off the pictures as he shook his head. "No. It's just the opposite. This is about mocking God", he stated almost like talking to himself till he noticed Kate staring at him and he knew he had to cover it.

"That's my guess", he added and Kate seemed to be satisfied with his answer. As he attention was drawn elsewhere, he used the opportunity to leave.

XXX

The class was finally dismissed and Buffy couldn't be happier. Melissa rushed after her and caught her by the door. "Hey!" she greeted happily. "Hey", Buffy yawned. Melissa gave her a concerned look and gently turned her to face her.

"You look really tired", she stated.

"Thanks", Buffy said with a wry smile and took a deep breath before explaining more. "Angel's been keeping me up all night."

Melissa gave her a crooked grin. "I bet he has", she said and Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Not like that! He's been having nightmares."

The grin faded from Melissa's lips. "Nightmares? As in plural? Is he okay?"

Buffy shook her head with a sigh. "He says he is. But you know guys. And Angel says he's fine even when he has trouble standing."

"Have you tried talking about it?"

"Angel isn't exactly Mr. Talkative. But I'll corner him once I get home", she stated and glanced at the clock, thankfully she only had one class left but unfortunately it was psych. After the whole professor Clift possession thing, she hadn't been all that comfortable in the class and it didn't help that he was just as big of an asshole without the demon controlling him.

Buffy and Melissa parted at the class door and she tried to make it to her seat as quickly as possible without Clift noticing her. "How nice of you to join us today, miss Summers", Clift's voice stopped her and slowly she turned around, trying not to glare at the man and fighting against the need to sink into the ground.

"I haven't missed your class in weeks, professor Clift", she defended herself.

"Try to pay attention today, I have noticed you show up but that is all you manage to do. I am not here for your entertainment, I expect all my students to pay attention", he said with a clipped tone, he didn't expect an answer, he just turned around back to his notes. Buffy sent a icy look at his way, knowing it was for nothing since his back was turned to her, and she made her way to her seat hoping the class would be over as painlessly as possible.

XXX

Cordelia shut down the lights in the office one by one. "I'm so glad to get away from Mr. Broody", she said to herself and grabbed her bag.

"Oh no, I'm talking to myself. I've spent way too much time with these people", she sighed and stalked to the door. She yanked the door open and let out a shriek as she almost collided into Wesley.

"Wesley!" she yelled accusingly placing her hand on her chest and trying to steady her breathing. Wesley walked past her looking around himself in a hurry.

"Where is Angel?" he asked and she frowned not understanding what was bothering him.

"Not here."

She turned at the door and noticed the stake in his hand. She couldn't believe it.

"And what is that?!" she asked with a accusing tone. "Exactly what it looks like", Wesley answered and seemed to settle down.

"You brought a stake to a vampire's home? Doesn't exactly scream house warming gift. It could be misinterpreted."

Wesley didn't seem to listen to her, he just pulled out a clipping from a news paper and showed it to her.

"You recall earlier this morning that mix up with the dentists mail and newspaper? That's when I saw this."

Cordelia's eyes widened and she grabbed the piece of paper from his hands. "You cut up Dr. Folger's newspaper? You're going to get us kicked out of this building", she accused him and Wesley had a urge to roll his eyes.

"Cordelia! The clipping", he pointed out. "Third body found in alley. So? Not exactly front-page news", she dismissed it.

"Actually that is the front-page, but still, note the modus operandi? The mutilation of the corpse with a religious icon?" he pointed out and Cordelia was still not following. "I'm against it?" she suggested causing Wesley to sigh and look heavenwards. He grabbed the clipping from her and went to sit down, opening his bag and pulling out a folder.

"While executing my duties as a watcher in Sunnydale, I did extensive research specifically on Angel, given his uncomfortable proximity to the Slayer", he explained. "He looked pretty comfortable to me", Cordelia stated dismissively but again was ignored.

"When I saw this story today it rang chillingly familiar. So I reacquainted myself with certain facts, unfortunately confirming my grim suspicions. In the late 1700s it was Angelus' custom to sign his victims by carving a Christian cross into their left cheek..." he didn't get to continue further when Cordelia slammed the folder closed and jumped to her feet.

"Okay, you get to leave now. You're not gonna come in here and accuse Angel like this! I don't care how many files you have on all the horrible things he did back in the powdered wig days!" Cordelia yelled at him.

"And I agree with Cordelia", came Buffy's voice from the front door, making both spin around to look at her.

"Buffy..." Wesley tried, he didn't like the grim determined look on her face.

"No, Wesley. We're not going to take your accusations, Angel's my friend and and nothing you say will make me turn on a friend!" Cordelia said firmly, pulling Wesley's attention to two different directions, being caught between two defensive females was not his idea of a good place to be in.

"Cordelia. He's right", Angel's voice came from the doorway making everyones eyes turn to him.

"You'll stake him and I'll cut his head off", Cordelia said to Wesley and Buffy's mouth dropped in disbelief. "Nobody is beheading anyone", she stated.

Wesley Wesley quickly made his way to Angel and thrust a cross to his face. "Come no closer!" he threatened. Angel turned away from the cross, his face distorting in pain.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Buffy yelled at Wesley and started coming closer, ready to throw him out of a window but a sign from Angel made her stop.

"I'm not going to hurt you", Angel said but didn't seem to get much confidence from his employee or the ex-watcher. "Is that what you told Miss third body found in alley?" Cordelia accused.

"Why should we believe a word you say?" Wesley questioned and Angel let out a short chuckle before batting the cross away from his hand and grabbing him. He pulled Wesley's hand behind his back and held him by the throat.

"Because this is how fast I could take you if I wanted to", he stated. He could smell the fear coming from him and see the slight alarm in Buffy's eyes, not a sight he wanted to see.

"We're listening", Wesley squeaked and Angel let go of him, pushing him away.

"I have no memory of doing any of these things."

"Not exactly the confidence inspiring denial I was looking for."

"Angel, you can't actually believe you did those things", Buffy denied and made her way to him. Wesley wanted to warn her to stay back but figured it would be more safe to stay away from the lovers business, she still hadn't lost the stubborn look from her face.

"I've been having dreams", Angel stated. "The nightmares?" Buffy said, more of a statement than a question.

"They're killing dreams. Always the same. I stalk them, toy with them, mark them while they are still alive. And before they can die from their fear, I feed on them. But they're not nightmares. I enjoy them", he told them, glancing at Buffy with shame evident in his eyes, no one else in the room knew or experienced the demon inside him like Buffy did. She swallowed harshly but held her eyes firmly on his, she knew how hard it was for him, especially with her present.

"And you fear that these may be more than just dreams, that you are acting them out in some sort of hypnogogic state", Wesley stated.

"Hypnowhatic?" Cordelia questioned with a frown.

"Sleepwalking", Buffy explained.

"Thank you, college girl", Cordelia said sarcastically but without the usual bite in her voice. Then she seemed to think of something. "But vampires can't sleepwalk. He'd take one step out of the front door and his pj's would burst into flame!"

"Unless it were happening in the pre-dawn hours. Which is when all these murders took place", Wesley explained directing his gaze to Angel.

"No way! I sleep in the same bed as he does and he's not been running around the town", Buffy denied the accusation.

"Buffy, you might have been sleeping through it, only waking when I do. There is only one way to be sure."

Buffy shook her head, not ready to give up. "No, I don't sleep that well when you're not next to me."

"Okay, I really don't want to hear about your sleeping arrangements. What I'd like to know is, if he's doing the whole Elm Street thing", Cordelia stepped in. "Freddie killed the victims in their sleep not when he was asleep", Buffy corrected the brunette.

"What ever. I just don't want to be his next victim, it would not be good for my starting career", Cordelia stated waving her hand absently. Everybody ignored her.

"I think we should chain me for the night. Make sure I won't be going out", Angel stated going back to the matter at hand.

"Very well. I believe you have chains we could use", Wesley said in very business like manner and Angel nodded in conformation.

"I really don't want to know", Cordelia sighed and Buffy shot her a strange look. _What was that supposed to mean?_

They went down to the apartment and Buffy headed to look for the chains. "Where should we chain you?" Wesley asked looking around for a good place to tie a person, in this case a vampire.

"The bed", Buffy answered while dragging the pile of chains to the bedroom. "But Buffy..." Angel started to protest but was interrupted by her.

"You take the bed, you'll be more comfortable and the bedpost is handy to tie you in. One night on the couch won't kill me."

She didn't want any more protests, she just dragged him into the bedroom by his shirt and pushed him down to the bed before putting the manacles to his wrists. "Make sure it's tight", Wesley instructed Buffy and Cordelia who was tying Angel's feet.

"Like I need instructions from you. This is my glamorous LA life, I get to make the coffee and chain the boss to the bed. I've got to join a union", Cordelia griped and yanked at the chain in emphasis.

"Cordelia, I think that's tight enough", Angel pointed out, he didn't have any circulation but it didn't mean he didn't feel the chains pressing into his leg.

"And if it turns out that we're back on the liquid lunch. Better safe than cocktails!" Cordelia remarked and got up to her feet. "Well, all we can do now is wait", Wesley stated.

"Yeah. And no offense Angel but maybe you are committing those horrible crimes just in your dreams. But even so, I don't want to stick around for your nocturnal commissions", Cordelia said giving him a apologetic smile. "I understand", Angel said and nodded.

"Well, pleasant... I mean, sleep tight", Cordelia said patting his leg and left. "That's pretty much a given", Angel stated looking at the chains that held him firmly in the bed. Buffy sat next to him and ran her hand through his hair.

"Don't worry, I'll be here. And I have no doubt about this whole things, it's not you behind those killings. I think you just wanted to be chained to the bed as a payback to me for hogging the covers."

He laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, that was my intention", he answered. She leaned down and gave him a brief kiss.

"Do you happen to have any tea?" came Wesley's voice from the kitchen. Buffy glanced at the door way and turned back to Angel.

"I guess we're not going to be alone tonight, so your virtue will be safe", she said with a crooked smile.

XXX

A young woman in few centuries old clothes ran through the dark streets of the village. Her fear was intoxicating to him. She stopped to bang on a door but no one answered, when she spun around, she was cornered. The fear in her eyes only made his hunger grow. He took a firm grip of the girl and ran his iron glad finger across her cheek, making a cross before sinking his teeth into her throat. He let the body drop to the ground and just stared at it, unfeeling.

"There now, isn't that better", came male voice from behind him. He spun around to look at Angelus looking down at him and the corpse. He straightened up. "Better", he answered an let his face change back to its human form.

"First kill. Aptly done", Angelus praised.

"It's strange. She was my sister."

"And yet you feel nothing", Angelus stated.

"No. I feel hungry", he said and turned to look at Angelus who gave him a satisfied smirk.

"Ah, you do learn very quickly."

"My father would disagree."

"Ah, then perhaps it's time you shared with him just what a fine student you've become."

"My father. Yes. They'll all be sitting down to dinner now."

Angelus pulled him under his arm, pleased by the idea. "A feast. Excellent. When they invite you in, savor it, Penn. You'll not recapture the moment. Family blood is always the sweetest."

Angel jerked awake with the chains rattling at the sudden movement and waking the other people in the room. Buffy lifted her face from the bed, she had fallen asleep in one of his lush chairs that she had moved next to the bed and somewhere during the night, she had shifted so she was half laying on the bed next to him.

"Angel", she whispered, feeling alarmed by the scared look in his eyes.

"Wakie, wakie!" Cordelia said cheerfully as she trotted into the bedroom holding a news paper in sight. Wesley, who had been woken by Angel, slowly started to rise from the chair he had been keeping post for the night. "We made it", he stated in relief.

"And great news, sport's fans, there has been another killing. Well, maybe not so great news for the, you know, dead person, but at least now we know that Mr. I'm so tortured didn't do it", Cordelia said and handed Wesley the news paper. Buffy made a move to unchain him but Angel's words stopped her.

"Yes, I did."

Cordelia and Wesley just stared at him in shock but Buffy managed to shake herself off it. "Don't say things like that. You haven't moved anywhere all night", she said and started opening the chains. He sat up rubbing his wrists, they had been chafed by the manacles but were already healing quickly.

"It's Penn. And I made him", Angel stated grimly. "As in Angelus siring him, made him?" Buffy asked and Angel nodded avoiding her eyes. "And teaching him everything he knows", he added.

"A real Psycho-wan-Kenobi", Cordelia stated. "200 years practice. I imagine he has it down by now", Wesley added.

"No lie. Gallagher's changed his act more often than this dude has in the last two centuries. Why do you think he's still doing the same old schtick?" Cordelia asked.

"Well, I mean, it's a classic, isn't it? Every time he smashes that watermelon with a sledgehammer I just..." Wesley said with a smile getting excited but soon quieting at the silent looks everyone was sending his way.

"I don't know why", Angel stated.

"You don't suppose it's his way of trying to draw you out? That he knows you're here. That might explain the dreams", Wesley analyzed. "No. I used to have a connection with those I sired. It just means he's close, that's all", Angel dismissed it getting frustrated. Buffy took a hold of his hand and gave it a small comforting squeeze.

"That's great. We can't find him and the cops stand absolutely zero chance of stopping him", Cordelia said throwing her hands in the air in surrender.

"Kate. She doesn't know what she's dealing with, what she's up against", Angel said quickly jumping to his feet with Buffy following. He headed towards the door but Wesley jumped to his feet and stepped into his way.

"And you're going to tell her what exactly? Think about it. You can't walk into a police precinct with intimate knowledge about these murders and claim a 200 year old Puritan is responsible. You'd be locked up faster than Lady Hamilton's virtue!" He turned his eyes to Cordelia, somewhat sheepishly. "My apologies."

"That's okay. I don't know what that meant", Cordelia said little confused.

"She's a good cop. She has resources we don't. Eventually she will find him."

"Bad for her then", Cordelia stated. "Or good for us", Angel added. Buffy frowned, it was no secret she didn't like Kate.

"And I was hoping we wouldn't have to involve her and her gun into this", she muttered. Angel turned to her and took a hold of her hand, drawing her eyes to his.

"Buffy, she was under..." he started but Buffy interrupted him. "...Some seriously creepy mojo. I know. Maybe I'm just being slightly jealous with her making googly eyes at you and pointing a gun at me, twice", she muttered and tried to ignore the crooked grin on Angel's face.

"You admitted you're jealous", he stated not loosing the grin. "I said slightly", she said with a pout. He let out a chuckle and bent down to press a kiss to her lips. Before neither of them knew, they had deepened the kiss and were wrapped in each others arms.

Cordelia tried to get them to pull apart by clearing her throat but it was useless effort. She sighed and rolled her eyes before making her way upstairs. "Umm... I... I'm going to follow Cordelia's example", Wesley stuttered signing to the stairway and leaving as he noted he wasn't going to be acknowledged.

Few minutes later Angel pulled away with a self-satisfied smile. She was breathless from the kiss but still managed enough brain function to slap him. "Sometimes you're such a guy", she breathed out and then glanced around herself, noting Cordelia and Wesley were missing.

"Looks like we're all alone", she stated. "They went up few minutes ago. I'll make you breakfast", he said and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before going to the kitchen. She followed him and sat to the table, watching as he cooked.

"What's cooking in that big brain of yours?" she asked. He stopped and turned to look at her, giving her a innocent look.

"What?"

"Come on, you have a plan. Am I going to like it?" she questioned but answered her own question with a frown. "Probably not."

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing", he assured her.

XXX

Angel walked into the police station, making straight line to Kate. "Hey. I have the info on your license plate", Kate said but noticed that he seemed nervous. "Angel, are you okay? Not that the brooding man of mystery thing isn't working for you. I mean it is. A lot", she continued now getting nervous herself.

"Can we talk somewhere in private?" he asked wringing the Claddagh in his finger. "Sure, of course", she conceded and lead her to a private room with crime scene photos pinned to a board on the wall.

"What is it?" Kate asked going to business. "How's the investigation?" Angel asked and walked to the board looking at the pictures before turning to her.

"It's nowhere. Some of your more inconsiderate serial killers often fail to leave us any clues", she stated and Angel turned back to the pictures as she started playing with her cross necklace. Memories of Penn's dead family played in his head bringing him into a revelation.

"He's reliving it", he stated to himself. "What's going on?" Kate demanded and Angel turned around to look at her, forcing himself not to wince at the cross.

"It's complicated."

"So make it simple."

"Kate, do you trust me?" he asked.

"You know I do."

Angel turned back to the board and pinned the drawing in his hand into it. "Trust me when I tell you, this is the man you're looking for", he stated. Kate looked at him stunned, not sure what to make of the situation.

"Where did you get that? How could you possibly..."

"Do you trust me?" Angel repeated the question.

"Are you protecting a source? Yes, I trust you."

"His next victim will be a white male, adolescent. He'll take him off the streets in a low rent neighborhood, probably near a bar or liquor store and he'll kill him just like he did these others. Unless you use every resource this department has to make sure he is not successful this time", he told her before leaving her standing stunned in the room.

He made his way down to the garage where Wesley was waiting him in the car. "So, I take it you told her everything", he stated as Angel sat into the drivers seat.

"Just enough to get her killed."

"Well, we'll just have to see that it doesn't happen. You do know Buffy isn't going to be pleased."

"I know. But I'll worry about it later. Once you hook this up, if Kate finds something, we'll know about it", Angel said and handed Wesley a police radio.

"Where did you get the police radio?" he questioned turning it in his hands. "Police car", Angel stated nonchalantly and Wesley almost dropped it.

"Oh dear", he breathed out and quickly hid the scanner under the seat.

XXX

Angel and Wesley heard the police radio inform about Penn's whereabouts and Angel quickly drove to the scene. Police cars were surrounding the exits and he could see Kate go inside with gun held in sight. He backed the car out of sight and looked around himself at the building, noticing the pipe going to the roof.

"I'll meet you back here", he said and got off the car before starting to climb up the wall along the pipe. Once he got to the roof, he listened carefully, trying to extract the sounds from the inside from the ones outside. He heard two gunshots and quickly made it to the spot, kicking the roof till it gave off and he fell gracefully down to the floor under it. His eyes landed on Penn, his appearance had changed since he last saw him but so had his own.

"Angelus?" Penn questioned in wonder. "Oh God, it's been a lifetime", he said with a laugh and patted Angels arms delighted to see his mentor.

"At least", Angel stated.

"We were to meet in Italy, remember?"

"I remember."

"Well, I waited for you. Hell, I waited until the 19th century. What happened?" Penn asked still not loosing the smile of happiness from meeting his hero after so many years.

"Got held up in Romania."

"Romania? What's in Romania?" he asked slightly confused.

"Gypsies", Angel answered dryly. He could hear Kate calling for back up in the radio and Penn's attention turned to her. "Join me for a drink", he said clapping his hand on Angel's shoulder still happy to see him. Angel stopped him, looking into his eyes grimly.

"That's not why I'm here."

Penn turned to look at him, now questioning his presence. "Yeah, why are you here?"

"To kill you", Angel stated and his face morphed into vampire features. He took the element of surprise to attack him and they both went sliding across the floor. They traded powerful punches and Angel seriously regretted that he had thought him how to fight. Pen slammed him to the floor, hitting him repeatedly till Angel managed to grab him by the jacket and throw them around. He brutally hit the younger vampire but Penn jumped to the ceiling, slamming Angel's back against the hard surface, managing to separate them on the landing. Angel threw him through a wall and turned to Kate, not caring that his face was in its demon features.

"Kate! Go! Get out of here! Now!" he ordered but was tackled down to the ground as Penn came flying through the hole in the wall. They jumped to their feet.

"You know its name? Angelus, what happened to you?" Penn asked incredulously. Angel swung his fist at him but Penn managed to grab him by his hair, momentarily keeping him in place.

"People change", Angel stated. "We're not people", Penn answered and threw him at Kate who had his gun pointed at them. Angel flew against Kate, tackling them both to the ground and when he managed to jump to his feet, Penn was gone. He turned to look at Kate, letting his face change back to human features, and soon the room was fool of police officers.

He stepped to the side as Kate talked to another officer before making her way to him. "I shot him three times. I know I did. And he got up", she said still not understanding how it was possible. Angel took a step closer to her but found himself facing the barrel of her gun.

"If I pull this trigger, are you going to get up too? What are you?"

"You already know the answer to that", he stated and slowly she lowered her gun. "Details have been left out of the press reports. Something you held back, isn't that right?"

"What do you know about it?" Kate demanded skepticism clear in her voice.

"Puncture wounds. The victims have all been drained of their blood, haven't they?" Angel could see the surprise and recognition in her eyes, confirming his claim.

"And should I trust you more or less because you happen to know that?"

"You're not going to stop him, Kate. Not like this", Angel warned her. "What you mean?" "It's going to take direct sunlight, decapitation or a stake through the heart", Angel gave her the list matter-of-factly.

"You're telling me children's stories", she brushed him off walking away.

"I'm telling you the truth", Angel stated and she spun around, clearly not believing him. "No. I don't believe you", she insisted.

"I know you don't. Even after what you saw you won't let yourself, which is why you'll lose", he said and walked closer to her.

"I've heard enough", she said but he didn't let her flee, he grabbed the cross in her necklace and she watched with wide eyes as his skin started smoking. He ignored the pain from the burning flesh and concentrated on her.

"No, you haven't heard a word, and you won't. Not now, not yet. Because there are some things in this world you're just not ready to face", he stated vehemently and walked away.

XXX

Buffy sat in front of the kitchen table with several books open in front of her and a cordless phone cradled on between her head and shoulder.

"Should you be watching your what? I'd stare at you blankly but I figured it looses some of its power on the telephone" she questioned with a frown.

"Occipital. The lobe in the back of your brain. You know, like should I be watching my back? But you know, the ... back of my brain", Willow explained to the phone. Buffy smiled shaking her head.

"Apparently not."

"Oh, but I like this. This is something I have been dreaming for years, you and me debating on school stuff... Although I imagined it would be both of us here in Sunnydale, going to the same college and not with you far, far away in LA but it still doesn't lower the greatness factor."

"I'm sorry I'm not there. I miss you guys. And I too wanted our debate to be face to face so you could see my blank expression when you use words I don't understand", she said with the mood toning down.

"Have you talked to Dawn?" Willow asked since they hadn't had the time to discuss slayer related topics yet.

"I called her earlier but she hung up on me. She's getting tired on the check up calls", Buffy answered and directed her gaze to the doorway when Angel walked down the stairs. A bright smile lit her face when he stepped into view and she invited him over with a movement of her finger. She covered the phone with her hand and pulled him into a quick kiss before coaxing him to sit next to her.

"Was that Angel? I thought I heard smooching", Willow questioned on the phone.

"How could you hear that, I covered the phone!"

Willow laughed and turned to look at Tara who lifted her gaze from the magic book at the sound. They shared a smile, almost like reading each others minds. "Oh, I guess I just know you too well. Tell him we said hi", Willow said innocently.

Buffy turned to Angel, putting her hand over the phone. "Willow and Tara says hi", she said and her eyes caught a quick glimpse of the burn in his palm. "Umm... Wills, I need to hang up now. I'll call you tomorrow, okay", she said to the phone not letting her eyes off his.

"Okay. Behave yourself. Bye", Willow said with a crooked smile and hung up.

Buffy put down the phone and quickly grabbed Angel's hand, revealing the cross shaped burn in his palm and burned slices all around his first. "Care to explain", she told him and he looked at her guiltily. She got up from the table and quick took a small jar of something green from the refrigerator. She sat back next to him and started spreading the ointment to the burns.

"Be free to explain. I may be a blond but I can spread this stuff and listen at the same time", she stated.

"The police found Penn, I went after him, Kate was there and she saw me on my vamp face."

"I take it wasn't a happy family reunion", she commented and ran her other hand through his hair, revealing a cut in his hairline, it had already stopped bleeding. "Let's just say he has daddy issues", Angel stated dryly.

"Who doesn't", Buffy muttered nearly quiet enough that Angel didn't hear.

"Have you seen your father?" Angel asked and stopped her hand by placing his own on top of it, it's not like the ointment did anything but eased the burning. Slowly she let her eyes drift to his and he hated the lost little girl look she had that just mentioning her father had put in to her eyes.

"No, he's still in Spain and every time I called before he was busy, if he answered at all", she answered quietly. She took a long calming breath and gave him a weak smile.

"Let's not talk about it. I get it that Kate saw you go grrr, but that doesn't explain how you got cross burns", she changed the subject and Angel wasn't going to push the topic of her father, he knew how hard it was for her.

"She went on denial, wouldn't believe what she saw, so I gave her a demonstration."

"And you couldn't find a less painful way?"

He shrugged innocently and Buffy couldn't help but roll her eyes. _Men!_

XXX

Angel put down the book as he heard the voices coming from upstairs. He made his way up and found Penn in the office, Cordelia was standing in front of a open window.

"Well. Look who's back from his up with people meeting", Penn said animatedly and let out a amused laugh. Angel glanced at the stream of sunlight separating him from Penn and darted his eyes back to his childe.

"Give me a stake", he said to Cordelia without leaving his eyes from Penn.

"It's like 8 in the morning", Cordelia protested incredulously. "Oh! You mean like..." Cordelia realized and made a stabbing sign before quickly leaving the room.

"What? You don't drink, so now no one gets to?" Penn questioned not loosing his happy mood. "I don't expect you to understand", Angel stated.

"Oh, I understand. I was a puritan, remember?"

"It's gotta end."

"Why? Because you say so? And how does that work exactly? You just wake up one morning and decide, Okay, now I'm good!" Penn laughed without humor. "No, Angelus. It doesn't end, it never, ever ends. It just goes on and on", he continued.

"That's not the only thing that goes on and on. Here, dust him", Cordelia said while coming back to the room and handed the stake to Angel, he still didn't let his eyes off of Penn.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you, Penn, for what I turned you into", he apologized and Penn gave him a strange look like he had said something funny.

"What? A first class killer? An Artist? A bold re-interpreter of the form?" he questioned cockily.

"Try cheesy hack", Angel shot back and Penn's face fell. "Look at you. You've been getting back at your father for over 200 years. It's pathetic and clichéd. Probably got a killer shrine on your wall, huh? News clippings, magazine articles, maybe a few candles? Oh, you are so prosaic", Angel taunted him, playing with the stake in his hand but not letting his gaze wander off of the younger vampire.

Penn slowly back away towards the door when Wesley walked through it not seeing him. "Nothing on the streets about a new vampire in town", he stated and suddenly Penn grabbed him from behind, wrapping his arm around his throat. Angel made a step forward but the stream of sunlight between them stopped him from getting to them.

"Which is maybe because he's here. And has me by the throat", Wesley choked out.

"Let him go!" Angel commanded.

"You're right, Angelus. My work was getting stale. I appreciate the critique", Penn said barely controlling his anger. Buffy opened the door and saw the situation. Angel didn't let himself look at her, keeping his eyes firmly on Penn and Wesley as she soundlessly pulled a stake out of her bag and crept towards Penn.

"So look for something new, innovative, something shockingly original. Just think of the worst possible thing you can imagine. I'll see you there", Penn threatened and spun around, throwing Wesley at Buffy, knocking them both down as he grabbed his coat and fled through the door. Buffy pushed Wesley off of her, grabbed her stake and ran after Penn but when she got outside, she had already lost him. With a disappointed sigh she returned inside, Cordelia had pulled down the curtains and Wesley was sitting by the desk, rubbing his abused throat.

"That was Penn?" she asked and Angel nodded grimly.

"He's up to something. I think I need to talk to Kate", he added more thoughtfully but not loosing the brooding look from his face.

"I don't like that idea", Buffy stated but despite that, after sundown she and Angel were standing in front of Kate's apartment door. "I still don't like this idea", she muttered.

He knocked on the door and moments later Kate opened it. "Hi. Can we come in?" he asked politely.

"Oh, that's right. You have to be invited in, don't you?" Kate shot to Angel and then turned her gaze to Buffy. "Do you know what he is?" she asked her accusingly.

"I know exactly who he is", Buffy stated pressing the word 'who'.

"So you're a vampire too? I knew there was something strange about you."

"No, I'm not a vampire. I could walk right inside uninvited but I won't, because I still have my manners. Unlike some people", Buffy shot back. "Buffy..." Angel tried to protest but Buffy gave him a look.

"So you know what he is. And it doesn't bother you at all. Well, it bothers me, I did some research. Like for instance, I learned that his friend has been in LA before, did you know that? Yeah, he's been here at least twice. Once in 1929 and again in 1963. Oh and there is something in Boston in 1908. If I were you I'd choose my friends more carefully."

"So you believe me?" Angel asked drawing her attention back to him. "Yes, I believe you", Kate stated still shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

"Good. Because he is planning something..." Angel started to say but didn't get to finish when Kate interrupted. "Angelus. Isn't that what he called you? Angelus? I looked it up. The demon with the face of an angel. A particularly brutal bastard by all accounts. Oh, and no, you can't come in. Neither of you", she said coldly.

"I can't make up for the past, Kate. I know that", Angel tried but again was interrupted by Kate.

"No, you can't. In fact all of this what's happening now is really because of you, isn't it. You made him, didn't you?"

"Hey! It wasn't Angel, he has a soul. Who sired Penn was Angelus, not Angel. Two different beings!" Buffy defended her boyfriend but Angel took a hold of her hand and quieted her, it wasn't the right time for the conversation.

He turned back to Kate and asked with a quiet voice, "Let me help end it, please?"

"Please? Now there is a word I imagine you heard quite a lot in your time. Please... No... Don't? Thanks for the offer, but I don't need your help. I know what to do. Drive a stake right through the son of a bitch's heart. And when that happens I suggest you don't be there because the next time we meet, I'll do the same to you", Kate said coldly and slammed the door shut in front of the couple.

"Bitch", Buffy muttered. "Buffy", Angel chastised as they started walking away.

"Well she is", Buffy stated defensively.

"It's just a human reaction. We better find Penn before she does. She doesn't understand just how strong he is, he'll kill her before she can stake him. Or possibly turn her, he isn't exactly original."

"Oh, come on, like he could top Angelus", she stated rolling her eyes. Angelus was still a sour subject to her but no matter what, she still knew he was the best at being a brutal, bloodthirsty killer.

The ride back to the office was quiet, bringing up Angelus had brought bad memories to them both. Inside they started researching Penn's movements, especially the killings Kate had told them about.

"Ha, here it is!" Cordelia yelped victoriously as she found a article on the computer. "Los Angeles Globe, 1929. 'The Regent Gardens Hotel manager said, that the suspect seemed like a quiet, normal type. The search is ongoing.' No kidding. What are we looking for exactly?"

"I don't know yet", Angel answered reading rest of the article over her shoulder.

"In 1963 the police tracked the killer to a residential hotel called the Clover Wood Apartments. By the time they made their move, he'd already fled. They never caught him", Wesley said showing them a large news book. Buffy stepped closer, looking at the pictures from the book to the computer.

"It's the same place", she stated.

"New name and a face lift. Not the first time that's happened in this town", Cordelia commented.

"Good old predictable Penn", Angel stated with a lazy shake of his head. "Who's in for some breaking and entering?" Buffy questioned with a crooked smile and fake enthusiasm.

XXX

They had gone to Penn's hotel room and to their horror found a detailed plan on attacking school bus. Despite her strong protests, Angel got her to go to class the next day, revealing his plan and appealing that he needed to do it for closure.

The next day Angel informed Cordelia where they were going and got Wesley to drive the car as he hid under the blanket. Wesley drove to the parking garage. "We're in", he informed and Angel threw the blanket away. There was police officers running around the garage and cars heading out.

"I still don't understand. What about the school children? Shouldn't we be..." Wesley started but quieted as a officer jumped in front of the car and stopped them before signaling police cars to drive by.

"He's here", Angel stated and got off the car, making his way to the tunnel access. He followed Penn's and Kate's scent and found them in the tunnels.

"...I'm not going to kill you. But when I'm finished, Angel will", he heard Penn say to Kate, he had her by the throat against the wall.

"A bus full of school children, Penn? You really thought I was gonna fall for that?" Angel questioned as he walked into the area. Penn spun around to look at his sire.

"Well, you could have", he protested.

"Nah. Too original", Angel stated and walked casually towards him. Kate used the moment of distraction to throw holy water to Penn's face. He screamed in pain and angrily threw her against the wall.

"Well, you were right about one thing, Angelus. The last 200 years has been about me sticking it to my father. But I've come to realize something. It's you!" Penn said like rebellious child before attacking Angel and kicking him to the stomach.

"You made me!" he yelled and kicked Angel again before hitting him.

"You taught me!" he continued and kicked Angel to the ground, he jumped into his back grabbing his hair. "You approved of me in ways my mortal father never did! You are my real father, Angelus."

"Fine!" Angel stated and got up to his feet before violently slamming Penn to the ground. "You're grounded", he added.

"And I say, get over it. We all have daddy issues", Buffy said and grabbed Penn by his jacket, throwing him against the wall.

"Buffy? How? Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Angel questioned surprised to see her, he was almost as dazed as Penn from her presence.

"I skipped and Cordy told me where you went. Wesley spilled the rest", she answered and turned to Penn who had scrambled to his feet. He looked at Buffy scrutinizingly, taking long whiffs of air then suddenly started laughing.

"Oh, this is rich. The Slayer! Come on, the great Angelus in bed with the Slayer", he giggled incredulously.

"Has any one said that the whole smelling thing is gross", Buffy stated with a frown. Penn looked at the two before giggling again.

"I think I went after the wrong blond", he said and started circling the couple like a pray.

"You like the sound of your own voice, don't you?" Buffy questioned with sarcasm dripping from her voice. She grabbed her stake and handed another to Angel.

"I've never killed a slayer before", Penn stated and attacked. "And you never will", Angel shot back and grabbed him before running him into a wall. He kicked Penn into the stomach and kneed him to his jaw, sending him staggering back.

Before he could recover, Buffy sent a roundhouse kick to his head and several powerful punches to his stomach till she grabbed him and threw him to the ground. Penn coughed blood but managed to surprise Buffy by kicking her to the back, sending her falling to the ground. He straddled her and bent down to bite her but stopped dead as Angel shoved a stake through his back. Penn burst into dust and before it had settled to the ground, Angel pulled Buffy to her feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked checking her for injuries. "I'm just fine", she assured him.

"You shouldn't have come here. I almost got you killed", he insisted and she looked at him like he had said something funny.

"And how did you figure that?"

"I made him, I thought him everything..." he started but with a sigh she interrupted him.

"You really need to work on your people separating skill, Angelus turned him, not you. Try to let it sink into your thick skull that Angelus is not you, you two are separate beings and if you go on guilt tripping about this I'm gonna sick Cordelia on you."

He gave her a quick smile and turned his gaze to Kate who looked a little shaken, clutching a piece of broken wood. "I should make sure she's okay. And you should go back to class", he said firmly. She gave him a pout but he shook his head signaling that it wasn't working although he had to turn his gaze back to Kate just to make sure the pout wouldn't work.

Angel walked to Kate and sat down next to her while Buffy looked at her suspiciously, the piece of wood in the cop's hands was making her nervous.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly and she turned to look at him, letting the wood drop to the ground. "Never better", she answered.

XXX

Angel was sitting on the roof deep in though as he heard Cordelia walk to his and lean against the brick railing.

"Buffy said you were brooding up here and told me to pound some sense into your big head. She said something about my lack of tact that might make you listen. What is she talking about? I have tact! I have plenty of tact! And in case if you're wondering why this vein on my temple is doing the cha-cha, it's because I just had one of those bone-crunching, mind-splitting vision headaches", she stated and handed him a piece of paper. He took it and read the name before shifting his gaze to her for the first time.

"I was just thinking about how much this place is like where I grew up", Angel said thoughtfully and directed his gaze back to the city lights. "Right. I could see that... Except I can't", she said looking at him wondering what was going on in his head.

"It's not that different. Makes me wonder if anything ever really changes."

"Sure it does. You have. They were just dreams and they weren't even your dreams", she insisted bluntly, not understanding why he was still wallowing in it.

"But I enjoyed it", he stated.

"It would probably be okay if you never mentioned that part ever again", she said with a grimace, she could still remember the months Angelus was loose and she did realize he went easy on her, she couldn't even imagine what it was like for Buffy. Of course then she didn't really care what Buffy was feeling.

"It's still in me, Cordelia", Angel stated grimly.

"Sure it's in you. We all have something, but it's not the only thing that's in you. You're not him, Angel. Not anymore", she said vehemently.

"That's what Buffy tells me."

"And for once she's right! The name I got in my vision, the message didn't come for Angelus, it came for you. And you have to trust that whoever that The Powers That Be be. Are? Is? Anyway, they know the difference. They want you and people do change. So snap out of it."

Angel slid down to the roof and gave her a smile, she was blunt but she could make sense when she wanted to. "Cordelia. I can't ask this from Buffy, so if the day ever comes that I..." he started uncomfortably.

"Oh, I'll kill you dead", she insisted.

"Thanks." He gave her a relieved half-smile before they started walking towards the door.

"What are friends for", she answered casually.

.

To be continued...


	13. Mortality

**A/N: **THANK YOU to all readers and extra thanks to those who left reviews.

* * *

Chapter 13: Mortality

She almost didn't feel the pain through the shock, almost. Buffy looked at the stake that was embedded deep into the flesh of her stomach. This couldn't be it. Not by some smelly terminally stuck to the eighties ordinary vamp. A million thoughts ran through her head. She couldn't leave Angel, they just got a chance to be together without fear, it wasn't enough time, and how could he deal with it after such short time from loosing Doyle. What about her friends, her mother and Dawn, how would she survive the demon that was after her? And Faith, she would be the only slayer, would she be ready to deal with the responsibility, could she handle being the only one, not to mention that she was in prison.

Through the shock she managed to pull the stake out of herself and she sprinted into run, her legs were working on pure adrenaline and fear. She managed to outrun the vampire and she sighed in relief as she got inside. She glanced around herself despite the fact that she knew Dawn was staying at a friend and her mother was sleeping with the power of strong sleeping pills. Slowly she climbed the stairs, the pain was shooting through her and she was starting to feel weak. She took a emergency kit from the bathroom and clumsily tried to patch the wound. What had happened was starting to sink in and she fought against the tears that threatened to surface.

She sniffed and grabbed the phone, quickly glancing at the clock before dialing the number she knew by heart. "Angel. I need you", she whispered into the phone and slowly laid down to the bed. She was tired, all energy was drained out of her and she couldn't find the strength to bandage herself, she only pressed a thick cloth against the wound and closed her eyes.

XXX

Angel rushed through the front door of the Summers house and he was assaulted with the lingering smell of blood. Buffy's blood. He had driven like a madman to Sunnydale after getting the phone call, he had been worried but now he felt the paralyzing fear settle inside him. He ran the steps three at a time and made a straight way to Buffy's bedroom. Once again he was enveloped with the smell of her blood and his eyes landed on Buffy who was trying to patch herself up. She lifted gaze from the task and their eyes met.

"Buffy", he whispered painfully, his face showing his relief that she was alive. She whispered his name like a prayer and quickly he made his way to her, sitting next to her on the bed. Gently he took the large piece of gauze she was holding against her side and inspected the wound, it had stopped bleeding.

"It needs stitches, maybe I should take you to hospital", he said lifting his eyes to hers.

"No hospitals. You know how I hate them and then there's the fact that mom would freak. I don't want to worry her", she shot down the idea and he nodded in understanding. He looked through the box and carefully started doing the stitches. She gritted her teeth at the pain but didn't let out a peep, she just watched him work.

"I didn't know you could do that", she stated and he seized, looking up to her.

"I can do a lot of things. One of the few perks of a long life", he answered, then turned his concentration back to the wound. After he had managed to close the wound, he took a piece of gauze and with care covered the wound, making sure he didn't hurt her. He pressed a soft kiss to her stomach and gently wrapped his arms around her.

"What happened?" he asked the question that had been bothering him as long as he had been in the room.

"A vamp. With my own stake", she muttered almost ashamed of what had happened.

"What did he look like?" he asked managing to keep the rage out of his voice, he wanted to find the demon and rip him into pieces.

"Like a reject from a eighties heavy band. But I don't want to think about it." She leaned against him, closing he eyes and letting herself find comfort in his presence. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and laid down on the bed with her in his arms.

He waited until she was asleep before he carefully got off the bed, making sure that she didn't wake up. With a grim, determined look on his face, he left the house and followed Buffy's scent to the cemetery. He could smell the drops of blood on the ground and it wasn't too hard to find the vampire she had faced. He grimaced at the smell, he wasn't sure if the vamp had taken a bath since he was turned. He neared the mausoleum and looked inside. The sight of the vampire showing three others Buffy's stake and laughing he had killed the Slayer, made Angel's blood boil. With a feral growl he kicked down the door and stepped inside.

"What's your problem, asshole!" the vampire yelled still clueless of the dangerous situation. Angel jumped at him, with a swift move breaking the vamps arm holding Buffy's stake. He grabbed the stake and effortlessly dusted the three other vampires, they didn't even have time to react. Before the dust had settled, Angel spun around and stalked to the remaining vampire. The vampire jumped to his feet and attacked Angel but was easily thrown across the room with a force that cracked the wall. Angel followed him and pulled him up, dangling him in the air by the throat.

"I'm not gonna kill you. Yet. You tried to kill my mate and you'll be punished for it", he ground out through his canines. He could smell the fear pouring out of the vampire and it only fueled his bloodlust.

"I haven't", the vampire tried to choke out but it was barely audible because of the tight hold Angel had around his throat.

"The slayer!" Angel yelled and struck the vampires head against the wall, making him loose consciousness. He dragged the unconscious vampire and drove him to the mansion, chaining him to the basement. After making sure the chains would hold, he went to the large wooden chest on the corner. Just looking at it brought bad memories but he pushed them aside and opened the lid, revealing Angelus' tools. He hadn't been in the basement after coming back from Hell, he had intended to get rid of all the things there but couldn't make himself go down the stairs. He pulled the chest closer to the vampire hanging from the chains. He glanced at his watch irritably and grabbed a bottle from the chest before splashing some of it to the vampire's face. The vampire woke up with a painful scream as the holy water burned his face.

"You know, I have a girlfriend waiting for me in bed so I don't have all night. Which hand did you use to stab her with?" Angel asked calmly, playing with the bottle in his hands.

"Are you crazy?! I'll fucking kill you!" the vampire yelled and tried to pull the chains with little luck.

"Am I crazy? People have had many opinions on that one", Angel said in a casual tone looking like he was truly pondering it. "Maybe I get a little crazy when someone tries to kill my mate!" he yelled and again threw some of the holy water to the vampire's face. He screamed in pain but Angel ignored it.

"Which hand?!" he demanded wrapping his hand firmly around the demons throat nearly crushing it.

"Left", the vampire choked figuring he would get off more easily. Angel let go of his throat and turned around, walking almost casually to the chest and picking up a rusty hand saw. He ran his finger along the edge before turning to look at his captive.

"Too bad you can't get blood poisoning from the rust. But then again, I wouldn't have the time to wait either", he mused to himself.

XXX

Angel returned to Buffy's room before dawn. He had left the screaming vampire dripping blood to the mansion's basement. He was just glad he had change clothes there since the vampire had been bleeding more than he had expected and his clothes were bathed with his blood. Then again, what had he expected from using a chainsaw. He still had trouble keeping his demon in control and he felt ashamed but he also had to resist the urge to go back to the mansion and torture the fiend till he begged for release that he wouldn't grant.

Angel shed his clothes off and carefully not to wake Buffy, he climbed into bed. Buffy opened her eyes and looked at him. "Where were you?" she asked sleepily and snuggled into his arms.

"Just out. Go back to sleep", he said with a hushed tone, not meeting her eyes.

"Angel?" She was getting worried that something was wrong, he almost looked ashamed and wouldn't look her in the eyes.

"Shh... Just go back to sleep", he said and wrapped his arms around her more tightly, avoiding the wound on her side, and eased them more comfortably under the covers. Her body relaxed against his and soon she was asleep. But he couldn't even close his eyes, he watched her sleep, listening to her steady heartbeat and breathing. He had almost lost her, just like Doyle. If he would loose her, he didn't know what would happen, he had already been too close to Angelus for his liking, torturing another being and enjoying it, sure it was a soulless demon but the fact that he had taken pleasure out of the vampire's screams of agony, scared him.

XXX

Angel woke up before anyone else in the house and he made his way to the kitchen, making breakfast for everyone. He knew he wasn't Joyce's favorite person, he could still remember vividly the day she had come to him and asked him to let her daughter go. Then he had seriously considered it, even going to leave her but fate had stepped in. A smile rose to his lips as he remembered the old gypsy's words, that his soul was his to keep, that there wouldn't be fear of releasing Angelus. He knew he wasn't the ideal son-in-law, the soldier boy Riley Finn would have probably been more suitable for her in Joyce's mind, just the thought of Buffy's former TA made his jealousy surface. He was glad he hadn't left, just the thought of the possibility that Buffy might have started dating the man, made him want to break something.

He pushed down the jealous feelings and continued setting the table. He turned to look at the door as he heard footsteps, he had been so involved in his glum thoughts that he hadn't even noticed that everyone in the house had wakened and Dawn had come home.

"That smells delicious", Joyce stated from the door.

"Morning, Mrs Summers", Angel greeted politely and offered her a smile from the compliment.

"Please, call me Joyce", she said and walked further into the kitchen, sitting to the table. "Alright, Joyce." Angel returned to the stove, Joyce's presence was making him slightly nervous.

"Look Angel", Joyce started and Angel turned to face her. "We both know I don't approve your and Buffy's relationship, I believe she should be with someone her own age. But... I also know how much she cares about you and I know how much you love her. Your relationship is something I have to except no matter what my feelings are. I'd like to try to... have a more close relationship with you two, because I know that my feelings towards you have driven Buffy further away from me. So I'd like to fix it."

Angel nodded in understanding. "I know our relationship is unconventional at least. But I love her, during the long years I've existed I've only loved one woman and that is Buffy. Your opinion means a great deal to her so I'm glad that you are willing to take a fresh start. You just want to protect your daughter but I would never hurt her."

Joyce gave him a warm appreciative smile and nodded in understanding. She wasn't willing to forgive and forget yet but she was ready to give him a chance. Angel gathered a plateful of breakfast and set it in front of Joyce before starting to gather another one.

"Thank you", Joyce said politely and carefully tasted the food. "Mmm... This tastes even more delicious than it smells. Buffy was right, you are an excellent cook", she complimented.

"Thank you", Angel answered and set another plate across the table from her. "Dawn should be coming down soon. I'll take this to Buffy", Angel explained and took the tray from the tabletop. He headed upstairs, meeting Dawn at the stairs.

"Morning, lass. There's breakfast for you in the kitchen."

Dawn playfully rolled her eyes at him for calling her lass and smiled. "You made it?" she asked and stole a piece of bacon from the tray.

"Yes. Now go eat your own food before it gets cold."

Dawn skipped down the stairs and Angel continued his journey to Buffy's room. He knocked on the door before entering and finding her already awake, sitting in bed.

"Morning", he greeted with a smile and closed the door behind him. She offered him a bright smile after seeing the tray in his hands.

"Morning. Breakfast in bed. That's so sweet", she said and pulled him into a quick kiss before concentrating solely on the food. It didn't take her long to polish off the plate and down the cup of coffee and orange juice.

"Thank you. I think the cook deserves a kiss", she said with a mischievous smile and leaned into a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, wincing at the pain shooting through her at the movement, but she didn't let him pull away. She threaded her fingers in his hair and deepened the kiss.

After a while he pulled back reluctantly and looked down to her stomach. "The bandage needs changing", he stated and pulled her shirt up.

"You're just using that as a excuse to see me shirtless, aren't you?" she teased.

"You got it", he said but turned very professional as he pulled her shirt up and removed the piece of gauze, there was small amount of blood that had seeped through the stitches as she had stretched out to kiss him. He frowned and grabbed the emergency kit from the floor. He took a cotton ball and dipped it in alcohol before starting to clean the wound. She winced but didn't say anything. Carefully he put a clean bandage on the wound and pulled down her shirt.

"Good as new", she said with a smile and pulled him into a gentle kiss. He shifted closer so she wouldn't have to move but they were interrupted when Dawn burst in to the room.

"Dawn!" Buffy yelped irritated. Angel shifted away from her and quickly hid the emergency kit under the bed.

"Sorry to interrupt the sexcapades. But I just wanted to tell you mom is coming", she explained her presence.

Moments later Joyce walked to the doorway. "Morning, honey", Joyce greeted with a warm smile.

"Morning, mom. How you feeling?" Buffy asked keeping the frown away from her face.

"I'm fine, bordering on chipper and tomorrow planning on being obnoxious."

"Sounds like a plan", Buffy said with a fake cheerfulness.

"Buffy, when you have a minute I'd like to go over the grocery list for next week."

"Sure", Buffy agreed with a nod. Joyce smiled but then her eyes landed on the small alcohol bottle on the night table.

"Are you disinfecting something?" she questioned with a puzzled expression.

"Huh? Uh..." Buffy tried to find something to say but Dawn beat her to it.

"Mine! Some nail polish experiments are doomed before they even begin", she said with enthusiasm and grabbed the bottle.

"But you keep pushing the envelope, honey", Joyce stated with another smile and left.

"Did I just pull a Slayer related mom cover up thing? Come on, who's the man?" Dawn questioned not loosing her chipper attitude.

"You are. A very short, annoying man", Buffy conceded and the smile faded from Dawn's face. Buffy felt bad about spoiling her good mood, she sighed and turned to her sister. "Dawn, if I show you something, you promise you won't tell mom?" Dawn crossed her heart and at that Buffy lifted her shirt enough to reveal the bandage.

"Cool!" Dawn yelped and noticing the strange looks she was getting, changed her answer. "I mean, gross!"

"Mom can't know, okay? You'll help me with the household stuff?"

Dawn sighed. "Oh sure. I save your butt and you dump all your chores on me", she said petulantly, receiving a annoyed look from Buffy. "I got it, you're covered. You're just lucky it's not bikini season."

Buffy smiled and smoothed back her hair. "Thanks", she whispered.

"I'll patrol tonight. You need to heal", Angel stated. Buffy smiled at him and playfully patted his cheek.

"Aren't I a lucky girl", she cooed and Dawn rolled her eyes. She got up to her feet and started towards the door.

"Okay, I'm going", she said and left the room, for once closing the door behind her. Buffy glanced at the door before turning back to Angel, her expression more serious.

"Could you look after Dawn today while I go talk to Giles?"

"Of course", he agreed knowing why she wanted to see Giles but he didn't want to think about it.

"Don't let her boss you around, okay. She can tire you out faster than you'd think", she warned him.

XXX

Buffy walked into the Magic Shop and Giles was alerted by the chime of the bell. "Buffy?" he said in surprise.

"Yes, we all know that's Buffy. But she never buys anything. Are you here to buy anything?" Anya stepped in turning to look at Buffy expectantly.

"Nope, just business-y stuff", Buffy answered and walked in further.

"Then I don't care", Anya stated waving her off and going back to stocking the shelves.

"Umm... Not that it is not good to see you, but what are you doing here?" Giles asked. Buffy looked around herself, looking pointedly at Giles, then glancing at the costumers. "Perhaps we should talk in private", he stated understanding her meaning and led her to the backroom. He closed the door behind them and turned to look at her expectantly.

"I... Well... Last night", she tried to find a way to tell him but finally sighed in frustration. "Guess it's just easier that I show you", she stated and opened her jacket before pulling her shirt high enough to show the bandage.

"Dear Lord. What happened?" he breathed out staring at the bandage.

"A vamp staked me with my own stake. Before you freak out, none of the important organs got kebabed and Angel stitched me up. But it got me thinking. I need to find out more about being a slayer and more about the ones before me. It wasn't even more than the ordinary vamp and he almost got me. I'm in better shape than ever before and still I got almost beat by a regular vamp."

Giles removed his glasses not knowing what to do or say, this was the moment he had been afraid of for years only he got away with scare this time, she was still alive.

"Umm... I believe I have some books", he said and quickly walked out of the room not even bothering to put his glasses back on. He made a straight way to his books and leaned against the bookshelf, taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself.

"Giles? You okay? You forgot the British cool for a second there", Anya's voice shook him back to reality.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Anya", he answered and put his glasses back on before starting to look for the books.

XXX

Giles walked to the back room holding another book. "Here's another one. Early 18th Century Slayer", he stated making Buffy lift her gaze from the book she had been reading. She slammed the book close with a sigh and put it on the pile next to her.

"Let's hope she'll be more helpful than this last one", she stated..

"Why? What does it say?" Giles questioned taking the book from the pile and quickly skimming through it.

"Same as all the others. Slayer called... blah blah... great protector... blah blah... scary battles... blah blah... Oops! She's dead. Where are the details?"

"Details? Well, it says this Slayer forged her own weapons", Giles stated helpfully and handed the book to her.

"Gotta love a gal with an anvil. But where are the details of the Slayer's last battle? You know, what made that fight special? Why did she lose?" she said in frustration and put the book down.

"You didn't lose last night, Buffy. You just..." Giles started but Buffy interrupted him.

"Got really close. I slipped up, Giles. I've been training harder than ever and still I... And there's nothing in any of these books to help me understand why. I mean... look, I realize that every Slayer comes with an expiration mark on the package. But I want mine to be a long time from now. If there were just a few good descriptions of what took out the other Slayers, maybe it would help me to understand my mistake. To keep it from happening again."

"Yes. Well, the problem is after a final battle, it's difficult to get any... well, the Slayer's not... she's rather..." Giles desperately tried to get the words out, it was hard to even think about.

"It's okay to use the D-word, Giles."

"Dead. And hence not very forthcoming", he finished.

"Why didn't the Watchers keep fuller accounts of it? The journals just stop."

"Well, I suppose if they're anything like me, they just find the whole subject too..." he started to explain but was again interrupted by Buffy.

"Unseemly? Damn. Love ya but you Watchers are such prigs sometimes."

"Painful... I was going to say", Giles finished and their eyes met. He had excepted that the day would come but he didn't want to think about it, like he said, it was painful. "But you're right. Accounts of the final battles would be very helpful. But there's no one left to tell the tales", he continued shaking himself off the glum thoughts. He noticed the look of revelation on her face.

"What?" he asked puzzled, even more so when a small smile tucked her lips.

"Except we know one. I gotta go", she said and grabbed her jacket, heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Giles asked hurrying after her.

"To talk to Spike", she answered and left the shop.

She quickly made her way to the cemetery, finding Spike's crypt and bursting inside. "Don't you ever knock like a normal person?" Spike questioned with pure bravado and stalked closer to her. Buffy grabbed him and pushed him face first against the wall.

"Ow!" he protested but then seemed to notice something. "Wait, not ow. You feeling alright, slayer? This stuff usually hurts", Spike stated puzzled. Buffy spun him around and gave him a stern look.

"Don't even start, Spike. Cause I can make it hurt."

"What do you want?" he demanded.

"Slayers. You killed two of them."

"I did", he answered still not understanding what was going on.

"You're gonna show me how", Buffy stated and Spike looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"Excuse me?! Really, are you feeling alright?"

"Shut up. Tell me how you killed the slayers, I'll even pay", she said, she was not in the mood to play his games. He chuckled gleefully but lost the smirk as he noticed he was one step away from being thrown through the wall.

"Well, buy me a beer and I'll consider it." She rolled her eyes and stalked out of the crypt.

"Was that a yes?" he yelled after her.

XXX

Buffy went to the Bronze with Spike following and reluctantly bought him a beer that he was greedily drinking down across the table. "You know, there quite a few American beers that are highly underrated. This unfortunately is not one of them", he stated and Buffy gave him a impatient look.

"We're not here to discuss the fine choice of hops. It's about two Slayers, one in China during the Boxer Rebellion, one in New York", she reminded him and pulled out a roll of cash, holding it in front of him but yanking it back when he tried to take it. "Both got killed by you. Tell the tale, you get the cash."

"You wanna learn all about how I bested the Slayers and you want to learn fast. Right, then. We fought. I won. The end. Pay up", he said but again Buffy pulled back the money.

"That's not what I..." she started to protest but was interrupted by Spike.

"What did you want, eh? A quick demo? A blow for blow description you can map out and memorize? It's not about the moves, love. And since I agreed to your little proposition, we can do this my way. Wings."

Buffy looked at him confused. "What?"

"Spicy buffalo wings. Order me up a plate. I'm feelin' peckish", he explained and she sighed in frustration.

"Excuse me..." she signaled to the waiter but as she moved, the pain from her side ran through her, making her wince.

"As I thought. Some nasty thing got a taste of you", he stated gleefully and she shot him an irritated look.

"Don't get all excited. I'm fine", she shot him down.

"Oh, right. Stuck in a dark corner with a creature you loathe, diggin' up past uglies, cause you're fine."

"Just tell me what I want to know", Buffy demanded, she was loosing patience with the vampire.

"I told you. No one's narrating on an empty stomach here."

Buffy shook her head in frustration and sighed. "Were you born this big a pain in the ass?" she questioned narrowing her eyes to glare at him.

"What can I tell you, baby? I've always been bad", he boasted making her roll her eyes. She turned, this time not wincing despite the pain, and ordered him the wings.

As he was munching the wings, making her wince at the sight, he told the tale how he was turned, of course leaving out the gory details how he was humiliated in front of the party group with his bad poetry, just stating how Cecily broke his heart, making him flee to the streets.

"Pool?" he asked all of the sudden in the middle of his narration of Drusilla meeting him in the stables.

"Huh?" she asked confused of the sudden question. He didn't wait for her answer as he threw the last chicken bone to the plate and walked to the pool table, grabbing a cue stick. Buffy listened to him describe in details how Drusilla sired him, she didn't want know or was all that interested in it, she was hoping he would get into the important parts already.

"So you traded up on the food chain. So?"

"Don't make it sound like something you'd flip past on the Discovery Channel. Becoming a vampire is a profound and powerful experience. I could feel this new strength coursing through me. Getting killed made me feel alive for the very first time. I was through living by society's rules. Decided to make a few of my own. Of course, in order to do that... I had to get myself a gang", he said a little offended and continued the tale. Buffy resisted the need to roll her eyes as she realized that Spike was referring Angelus, Drusilla and Darla as **his** gang, that was a laugh. It turned out that he heard about the slayer from Angelus, why wasn't she surprised.

"After that, I was obsessed. I mean, to most vampires, the Slayer was the subject of cold sweat and frightened whispers. But I never hid. Hell, I sought her out. I mean, if you're looking for fun, there's death, there's glory and sod all else, right? I was young", he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"So how'd you kill her?" she went back to business.

"Funny you should ask", he said and slowly moved behind her, soundlessly. Suddenly he grabbed her by the neck, at the same time she grabbed the cue, reacting on instinct, ready to stake him if necessary.

"Lesson one, a slayer must always reach for her weapon", he stated, his face shifting to his demon visage. "I've already got mine." He shook his head, shaking the demon form away, and released her throat taking the pool stick from her.

"A good thing, too. Become a vampire, you've got nothing to fear. Nothing but one girl. That's you, honey. Back then... it was her", he stopped dramatically and concentrated on the game for two shots before continuing.

"That girl had some serious moves, all finesse and precision. Had a bloody big sword too, nearly cut me head off more than once. The bitch."

He described the fight reveling on the memories, smiling as he thought about them. After he was done with the fight, getting past how he killed the slayer, he described his celebration with Drusilla in details Buffy really didn't want to hear. She looked at him with disgust.

"That was the best night of my life", he finished the tale. "And I've had some sweet ones", he added then noticing the intensive stare she had him under. "What are you looking at?"

"You got off on it", Buffy stated disgust clear in her voice.

"Well, yeah. I suppose you're telling me you don't? How many of my kind reckon you've done? And I'm not talking about the way you do the Poofter."

"Not enough", she stated, her disgust against Spike growing the more he spoke.

"And we just keep coming. But you can kill a hundred, a thousand, a thousand thousand and the enemies of Hell besides and all we need is for one of us. Just one. Sooner or later to have the thing we're all hoping for."

"And that would be what?" she questioned, her voice hard. Spike stepped closer, her fingers automatically tightening around the cue she was holding.

"One. Good. Day", he whispered into her ear, pronouncing every word slowly. She pushed him violently away from her and turned to look at his laughing face. Her want to stake him just grew up a notch.

"You asked and I'm tellin'. The problem with you, Summers, is you've gotten so good, you're starting to think you're immortal."

"Not really. I just know I can handle myself", she stated.

"Oh? Then how do you explain this?" he asked and punched her to her side, to the spot where her wound was. She cried out in pain, not noticing him yelling in agony as the chip hurt him. She glared at him, wanting to pound him into bloody mass but couldn't with the audience staring at them.

"So that's it? Lesson over?"

"Not even close. Come on", Spike answered and lead her outside, still holding his pool cue.

"We're here. Start talking", she said sternly as they got to the alley. Spike tried to kick and hit her but she managed to duck his every move before grabbing him by the throat and backing him against a chain fence. He gave her one of his short laughs.

"What?" she demanded.

"Lesson two, ask the right questions. You want to know how I beat 'em?" he said and she released her hold on him. "The question isn't How'd I win? The question is Why'd they lose?" he answered his own question.

"What's the difference?" she asked getting tired of playing around with him. He attacked her with the cue aimed to her throat but he stopped before making contact with her skin. She just stared at him, not moving or showing much of a reaction.

"There's a big difference, love", he stated and Buffy kicked the stick out of his hands.

"How'd you kill the second one?" she demanded.

"Hmm? A bit like this", he answered and attacked her, throwing punches her way but she ducked them with little effort.

"That didn't hurt", she stated as he stopped.

"I knew I couldn't touch you. If there's no intent to hurt you, then that chip they shoved up my brain never activates. If, on the other hand..." he explained and started attacking her with full vamp face but he was stopped by the numbing pain in his head. He yelled in pain, holding his head before turning to look at her. "See, now that hurt", he stated.

"Yeah? This hurt too?" she questioned and punched him in the stomach before hitting him in the face hard enough to make him fall to the ground.

"Definite pain there", he stated.

"How'd you kill 'em, Spike?" she once again demanded to know. He jumped to his feet and started to attack her but she flipped him to the ground and pulled out a stake. He grabbed her wrist and said, "You're not ready to know."

"I'm ready", she stated putting more pressure on her hand, the stake closing on the target dangerously.

"Okay, then. Went like this", he said flippantly and threw her off of him.

"The first one was all business but the second, she had touch of your style. She was cunning, resourceful... Oh, did I mention? Hot. I could have danced all night with that one", he said while trading blows with her, mimicking the moves of the past's slayer without her knowledge.

"You think we're dancing?" she asked incredulously, they had stopped fighting for a moment.

"That's all we've ever done", he answered matter of factly before attacking her again, but she grabbed him and threw him to the ground. He grabbed the pool stick and spun it around making a big show out of it.

"And the thing about the dance is, you never get to stop... Every day you wake up, it's the same bloody question that haunts you: is today the day I die?" he said and tried to strike her with the cue but she stopped it and stuck him with the balm of her hand.

"Death is on your heels, baby, and sooner or later it's gonna catch you. And part of you wants it... not only to stop the fear and uncertainty, but because you're just a little bit in love with it", he continued rising from the ground. She closed in on him slowly before punching him hard enough to make him stumble to the ground.

"Death is your art. You make it with your hands, day after day. That final gasp. That look of peace. Part of you is desperate to know, What's it like? Where does it lead you? And now you see, that's the secret. Not the punch you didn't throw or the kicks you didn't land. Every Slayer... has a death wish. Even you", Spike said and stood up.

"The only reason you've lasted as long as you have is you've got ties to the world... the big poof, your mum, your brat kid sister, the Scoobies. They all tie you here but you're just putting off the inevitable. Sooner or later, you're gonna want it. And the second", he clapped his hands together in front of her eyes but she didn't even flinch. "...the second, that happens... You know I'll be there. I'll slip in... have myself a real good day", he said punctuating every sentence. He took a step back.

"Here endeth the lesson. I just wonder if you'll like it as much as she did."

"Get out of my sight. Now!" Buffy gritted through her teeth, barely keeping hold of her anger.

"Oh, did I scare ya? You're the Slayer. Do something about it. Hit me. Come on. One good swing. You know you want to", he baited her, already pouncing on his feet ready for a fight.

"I mean it", she ground out, not sure would she care if he was defenseless or not.

"So do I. Give it me good, Buffy. Do it!"

She had to use every ounce of control she had not to grab the pool stick and shove it through his heart. But the rage was replaced with complete disbelief and horror as he leaned closer to her, frighteningly looking like he was about to kiss her.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she demanded. He grabbed her arms, stopping her from stepping back.

"Come on. I can feel it, Slayer. You know you want to dance", he said almost breathlessly and she shoved him off of her, making him fall to the ground.

"You disgust me! Even if I would want to 'dance', it will never be you", she said with venom and threw the money at him before stomping off.

XXX

Buffy walked through the front door looking around herself. "Angel? Mom? Dawn?" she asked to the seemingly empty house.

"Mom's resting", came Dawn's voice from the living room. She was sitting on the couch in dim light reading a book. Buffy walked into the room, shedding her coat and putting the table light on.

"You're gonna ruin your eyes reading in the dark", she stated and sat to the edge of the table. "Thanks mom", Dawn muttered and turned her concentration back to the book.

"Where's Angel?" Buffy asked and with a sigh Dawn set down the book, turning her attention to her big sister.

"Still patrolling. Went after mom got home. I really didn't need a babysitter. And when do I get to patrol?"

"Not until... Never!" Buffy shot back. Dawn didn't look happy from the answer, she grabbed her book and started reading ignoring Buffy.

"I'm gonna go take a bath", Buffy stated and got up to her feet. Dawn didn't say anything back as she walked past her and made her way upstairs. Buffy put the shower running and quickly shed her clothes off before stepping under the spray. She scrubbed her skin, trying to get the smell out of her, even if she couldn't actually smell it, she could feel it clinging to her skin. She looked down at the wound and slowly ran her finger across it. It was still tender and ugly but it was healing at good rate. She hissed as the pain shot through her. She pulled her hand away and quickly washed her hair before shutting out the water and toweling herself dry. She put on her robe and went to her room to wait for Angel. Spike was wrong, she didn't have a death wish, she wasn't willing to give up on the darkest hour of her life when she thought Angel was gone forever and there certainly wasn't any chance she was going to surrender now that she had him.

XXX

The vampire screamed in agony as Angel forcefully pulled out the dagger out of him. He could smell burnt flesh where he had buried the object dipped in holy water. "Please", the vampire whimpered choking blood. There wasn't much left of him, hours of torture and blood lost had done its deed, he was merely hanging from one arm on the chains.

"She is marked!" Angel growled at the vampire and backhanded him, there wasn't even enough blood for it to splatter from his deformed face. He let out a angry growl as his cellphone started ringing, why had he let Buffy and Cordelia convince him to get one. He wiped his bloody hands in his trousers and went to his jacket, pulling out the phone. His anger disappeared as he saw Buffy's caller ID blinking on the screen.

"Buffy", he breathed into the phone. She repeated his name breathily but seemed to shake herself out of the stubborn. "

Busy night?" she asked.

"Yeah", he agreed looking down to the floor in shame as if she could see what was left of the vampire he had been torturing. It was just starting to sink in what he had been doing and it scared him.

"When are you coming home?" her voice shook him out of his thoughts.

"I'll come soon", he answered.

"Okay. I'll be waiting. I love you."

"I love you too", he said back and hung up. He placed the phone back to his jacket pocket and turned to look at the vampire who was trying to smirk, a task that was very difficult with a broken jaw. Angel grabbed Buffy's stake from the table and stalked to the vampire, unceremoniously staking him. He didn't even watch the dust settle down as he made his way upstairs and into the shower.

In twenty minutes he was in the Summers house, making his way to Buffy's room. He found her already in bed as he stepped into the room. "Hey", he whispered and started shedding his clothes off.

"Tough day at the office?" she asked not expecting an answer, she just pulled the cover back on his side. He got into the bed and pulled her into his arms, pressing a soft kiss to her head. They molded against each other, finding comfort in knowing the other was there and clinging like it all could disappear at any minute.

XXX

She sat in a uncomfortable plastic chair facing the empty chair on the other side of the glass. The door opened and Faith was escorted into the room. Her expression showed her surprise even though she tried to cover it. Lazily she sat to the chair and picked up the phone, Buffy mimicking her move.

"Well, well, well, what do I owe this pleasure?" Faith said to the phone and Buffy let out a tired sigh.

"I can leave", she stated ready to get off the chair.

"Don't. I just... Don't go, okay. Why did you come?" Faith stopped her quickly. Buffy relaxed in her seat, or as much as you could on the hard plastic.

"Near death experience. A vamp almost got lucky. So, how are you?"

"You know me, B, always stirring up some trouble", Faith answered flippantly even though she could feel the weight of her sister slayer's revelation. Buffy gave her a chiding look and she rolled her eyes, always the big sister.

"Nothing major, just some bitch tried to build her rep. I didn't kill her if that's what you were afraid of."

"I wasn't... I didn't think..." Buffy tried to explain but stopped as Faith shook her head assuringly.

"I know. But I really wanted to slap her. She just kept on coming like a fucking boomerang even though she couldn't even touch me. But other than that, it's all nice and cozy in here, except the food's crap, but then again, I've had worse."

There was a long silence as both tried to find a way how to say what they wanted. "Look, B... Buffy... I'm sor..." Faith broke the silence but Buffy raised her hand stopping her from continuing.

"Don't. I'm not ready for that", Buffy said with pain clear in her voice. She took a deep breath before changing the topic. "Have you talked to your lawyer?"

"Yeah. I talked to him. They say he's qualified, he went to law school and everything", Faith answered and Buffy let out a soft chuckle.

They continued talking, avoiding the subject of Angel, till the visiting hour had passed. The buzzer sounded and the guard stepped into the room. Faith glanced at the burly man before turning back to Buffy.

"I guess our time's up. Say Angel I said hi", she said and hung up the phone before Buffy could say anything. She wanted to ask if she'd be coming again but she couldn't, so she just walked away. Buffy got off the chair, looking after her sister slayer, not leaving till she was on the other side of the steel door.

With a weary sigh she left the building and stepped into Angel's car. "She sends hi", she stated not looking at him, just closing her eyes.

"How was it?" Angel asked tentatively.

"Painful. So nothing new there", she answered opening her eyes and finally turning to look at him. He took a hold of her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles before starting the car and driving off.

.

To be continued...

* * *

**A/N:** I know Angel is a little exteme in this, but remember how he tortured (or at least was willing to) the lawyer after baby Connor was kidnapped, well I'm using that as my excuse.


	14. Knocked up

**A/N:** Once again, Thank you to all the readers and extra thank you to those who left comments.

**

* * *

****Chapter 14: Knocked up**

Buffy was sitting by the table with a deep scowl on her face, the books in front of her were long forgotten. Angel stood by the doorway, watching her, he had just come back from a magic shop with a new book and found her deep in her thoughts.

"Thinking about the demon woman?" he asked making his presence known. She turned to look at him, the frown not leaving her face.

"I wish. I'm having trouble with what I'm going to get Tara for her birthday. I was thinking about a crystal ball but Giles said he got her one."

"What do you think she'd like?" Angel asked helpfully and sat down next to her.

"That's the problem. I don't know her that well. All I know is that she's a witch, loves Willow and is a really, really nice person", she answered with a frustrated sigh.

"Don't worry, it will come to you", he reassured her and pulled her into his arms. With a satisfied sigh she leaned against him and closed her eyes, letting his presence sooth her.

"I brought you something", he stated. She opened her eyes, seeing the book in his hands.

"Another book", she muttered like a little child, making him laugh.

"I take it you haven't had any luck with those", he stated.

"None what so ever. I've been through thousands of different uglier than ugly demons but no queen bitch herself."

"Don't worry, we'll find her. Maybe Giles has found something."

"No, he hasn't. I was just on the phone with him", she answered again frowning as she remembered she didn't have any gift for Tara.

"How is everyone?" Angel asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. She turned to look at him somewhat surprise as though she had just noticed he was there.

"Everyone's fine. The Magic Shop keeps Giles busy aside from the researching that Xander is helping him with, and Anya is in her dream job as the cashier, she's finally found a new passion in money. Willow is busy with classes and Tara. Mom's still in tests and for once Dawn is keeping out of trouble. I think that sums it up. But you can find out yourself when we get there", she answered, then her frown deepened, they were going back to Sunnydale the next day and she still had no idea what to give Tara. She jumped to her feet and pulled Angel with her.

"We need to find the present", she stated and started pulling him with her.

"Can't Cordelia help you with that?" he questioned with a frown.

"Cordelia doesn't know Tara and I doubt she'd be much help on this matter. She's expert shopper but somehow I don't see her in a Magic Shop going through talismans and crystal balls", she answered not taking no for an answer.

XXX

After excruciating long hours of browsing around shops, Angel had finally convinced her to buy a beautiful necklace with a protective stone in it, and he was swearing he would never again shop for gifts with her, even though he knew he'd do anything for her if she asked. The gift was wrapped and the next day right after sunset they headed to Sunnydale. After picking up Dawn from a friends house, they went to the Magic Shop to meet the gang.

Angel and Buffy walked into the store with Dawn following on their heels. "Oh, look whose back in town!" said with a crooked grin, happy to get his eyes off the book in front of him.

"Hey, Xander", Buffy greeted and walked to the table swamped with books.

"Hey there, Dawn. Dead boy", he extended his greetings to her sister and boyfriend. Buffy gave him a chastising look but Angel didn't seem to pay attention to the usual manner Xander called him, he just headed to the backroom where he could hear Giles moving.

"So, how's the reading going?" Buffy asked and looked at the book that was open in front of Xander.

"The ygh-factor is very high, but no Cordelia Chase's evil twin... or eviler twin in Cordy's case", he answered and shut the book, not noticing Anya scowling at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. He really wanted to forget the day, ever so helpful Anya had told him colorful stories about the demons he found in the books and the stories were more disturbing than anything else.

"What are you going to get for Tara?" Buffy asked changing the line of conversation.

"I don't know. Cause what do witches usually want for birthday?"

"I got her a necklace with this stone in it that like breathes protective energy. I'm not really sure on the details, Angel picked it but I didn't really listen all the stuff, all I know is, it's pretty, shiny and supposed to protect", Buffy said shrugging her shoulders.

"Dead boy went gift shopping with you? Oh man, and I missed it", Xander chuckled and earned yet another chastising look from her. "By the way, did you know Tara's family is in town?" he asked still chuckling at the thought of Angel shopping.

"No, Willow didn't say anything when I called her this morning."

"Oh? I guess you called before they got here. Didn't seem like a happy reunion if you ask me."

The bell chimed and Willow walked in. She seemed distracted, so in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Buffy. "Hey, Will!" Buffy greeted drawing Willow's attention to herself and the wicca gave her a sheepish smile.

"Hey. You're here already. Where's Angel?" she asked looking around herself searching for the vampire that couldn't be far away.

"He's having a pow-wow with Giles", Buffy answered then looked at her friend more closely. "Is everything okay?" she asked concern clear in her voice.

"Everything's fine, just my muddled brain. Nothing a good old-fashioned research party won't fix", Willow played it off, not managing to vanish Buffy's worry but she decided not to push.

They all grabbed books from the stack and started going through them as Dawn was browsing the shop, making Buffy very nervous. Angel and Giles returned from their meeting, joining the research but despite five pairs of eyes, they didn't seem to find anything useful.

After an hour of going through the books, Buffy sighed and stretched her shoulders, trying to get the kinks out. Angel set his book down and shifted in his seat, pulling her hands away from her shoulders and starting to gently massage them.

"Hmm... That feels good", she breathed out, her eyes closing as she felt the tightness leaving her body.

"Okay, keep the PDA minimum, will you", Xander exclaimed, drawing Buffy out of the haze. Her eyes snapped open and she looked around herself embarrassed.

"Maybe I should go abuse the punching bag for a while", she said and before anyone said anything, got off her seat turning to leave. But she stopped as she felt something go through her, but since it was so brief, she ignored it and made her way to the backroom.

She beat the bag for a good while till stopping to stretch her arms, bending them behind her back. She closed her eyes but as she had a eerie feeling she wasn't alone, she quickly opened them, puzzled when she didn't see anyone else. She tried to ignore it but then she knew for sure there was someone and just in time, she blocked a blow coming her way. She threw, what ever it was that attacked her, off of her but right after she was grabbed from behind. She struggled against the hold, fighting off the things she couldn't see.

"There's something in here!" she yelled and kicked her leg back, managing to free herself. She heard struggling from the other room and tried to get there as soon as she could but again she was grabbed from behind. She felt a breeze go by her and sound of fighting but again didn't see anything. She flipped her attacker over her shoulder and threw it to the wall before running back to the shop.

"Where's Angel?" she asked not seeing him in the room, only her friends trying to find their attackers.

"We don't know, he disappeared after you left", Willow answered while poking the air with a chair. Dawn shrieked from her hiding place as suddenly the table was knocked over as if something had slid over it. Giles stepped protectively in front of her, only to be knocked back by the invisible demon.

"How many are there?!" Xander cried out, anxiously looking around himself.

"I've already been injured once this month!" Anya protested.

"Everybody shut up", Buffy commanded and closed her eyes, listening to her surroundings. Tara walked through the door, seeing Angel fighting an ugly demon as Buffy was standing in the middle of the floor with another demon nearing her from behind. Angel was yelling her to look out but she didn't seem to hear him.

"Buffy! Behind you!" Tara cried out and Buffy spun around, knocking the demon back and kicking it before it could recover. Quickly it started to dawn to Tara what had happened, without hesitating she started chanting the counterspell, in the process drawing the demons attention to herself.

Buffy felt a wind go through her and suddenly she could see Angel snapping a demons neck and another knocking down Tara. At the moment, three people walked in drawing the demons attention and it started closing in on them. Buffy ran after the demon, dropping down to the ground and sweeping its legs from under it. It fell against the stairs and swiftly she jumped to her feet and stomped her foot against the demons neck, crushing it.

The man stared at the dead demon with wide eyes, his expression shifting between scared and disgusted. "What in God's name is that?" he questioned.

Angel was about to answer when Spike walked in and beat him to it. "Lei-Ach demon. Fun little buggers. Big with the marrow-sucking." Spike glanced at Angel with a scowl and earned a glare. Ignoring Spike, Angel made his way to Buffy and placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him and gave him a small nod as a sign she was alright.

"I don't understand", Mr Maclay said while getting up from the floor.

"I'm not sure I do either", Buffy stated and turned her gaze to Tara who was sitting on the floor with tears running down her cheeks, looking guilty.

"I'm sorry. I'm s...so..sorry. I was, I was trying to hide", she said through the hiccups. Willow walked to her girlfriend and kneeled in front of her, Tara lifted her gaze to her and looked at her with sad eyes.

"I didn't want you to see... what I am", she explained miserably.

"What?" Willow asked confused.

"What do you mean, what you are?" Buffy asked and Tara tried to answer but it was too hard.

"Demon", mr Maclay spat out before continuing, "The women in our family have demon in them. Her mother had it. That's where the magic comes from We came to take her home before... before things like this started happening." He pointed at the demon on the floor as a emphasis.

"You cast a spell on us, to keep us from seeing your demon side. That's why we couldn't see our attackers", Giles stated.

Buffy glanced at her sister, then up at Angel before shifting her gaze back to Tara. "Nearly got us killed", she stated.

"I'll go. I'm so sorry", Tara said scrambling up to her feet.

"Wait! Go? She just did a spell that went wrong. It.. it was just a mistake", Willow said grabbing hold of Tara's arm to keep her from leaving.

"That's not the point and it's not your concern. She belongs with us. We know how to control her... problem", Mr Maclay said sternly.

"Tara. Look at me". Willow pleaded and slowly Tara shifted her teary eyes to her. "I trusted you more than anyone in my life. Was all that just a lie?"

Tara shook her head vehemently and swore, "No!"

"Well, do you wanna leave?" Willow asked, everyone could see Tara was reluctant to leave or even answer, torn between choices.

"It's not your decision, young lady", Mr Maclay protested.

"I know that!" Willow exclaimed, then turned to Tara, instantly softening. "Do you wanna leave?" she repeated the question. Tara just shook her head, still crying silently.

"You're going to do what's right, Tara. Now, I'm taking you out of here before somebody does get killed. The girl belongs with her family. I hope that's clear to the rest of you", Mr Maclay said with his voice hard, giving the group a stern look.

"It is". Buffy stated, drawing Tara's scared eyes to herself. "You want her, Mr. Maclay? You can go ahead and take her... You just gotta go through me", Buffy said placing her hands on her hips, looking defiantly at the older man.

"What?" Mr Maclay asked clearly not believing what was happening.

"You heard me. You wanna take Tara out of here against her will, you gotta come through me."

"And me!" Dawn joined in, coming to stand next to her sister.

"Is this a joke? I'm not gonna be threatened by two little girls", Mr Maclay exclaimed incredulously.

"You don't wanna mess with us", Dawn said glaring at the man.

"She's right. She's a hair-puller", Buffy stated glancing at her sister before turning her gaze back to Tara's father.

"And you're not just dealing with... two little girls", Giles said moving to stand behind the two sisters and the vampire.

"You're dealing with all of us", Xander stated.

"Except me", Spike protested from the back, he had been ignored till then.

"Except Spike", Xander stated like the vampire hadn't said anything.

"I don't care what happens", Spike stated.

"This is insane. You people have no right to interfere with Tara's affairs. We are her blood kin! Who the hell are you?" Mr Maclay questioned clearly getting angry.

"We're family", Buffy stated matter a factly.

"Dad", Tara's brother whined. "You gonna let them just... Tara, if you don't get in that car, I swear by God I will beat you down", he threatened, pointing at Tara.

"And I swear by your full and manly beard, you're gonna break something trying", Xander shot back. Tara's brother looked at him taken back but what made him backpedal was Angel's dark look that he was in the receiving end of.

"Well. I hope you'll all be happy hanging out with a disgusting demon", the woman of the family shot at them with disgust dripping from her voice.

"Excuse me. What kind?" Anya asked with a raised hand.

"What?" the woman asked taken back.

"What kind of demon is she? There's a lot of different kinds. Some are very, very evil. And some have been considered to be useful members of society", Anya clarified, smiling widely at the last part.

"Well, I... what does it matter?" the woman stuttered not knowing how to answer.

"Evil is evil", mr Maclay stated.

Spike let out a frustrated sigh and stomped to the group. "Why don't I make this simple", he stated and tapped Tara's shoulder. As she turned to look at him, he hit her face, soon after yelling in pain and grabbing his head. Before he could recover, Angel had stepped in front of him and punched him, making him fall to the floor.

"Hey!" Willow yelled angrily at Spike, but then it dawned to her and a small smile crept to her lips."Hey.." she breathed out.

"He hit my nose!" Tara said miserably, holding her nose.

"And it hurt! Him, I mean", Willow said and slowly a teary smile rose to Tara's lips.

"And that only works on humans", Buffy stated.

"This is what I get for helping", Spike muttered to herself, glaring at Angel as he climbed to his feet.

"There's no demon in there. That's just a family legend, am I right? Just a bit of spin to keep the ladies in line", Spike explained and turned to look at Mr Maclay with a crooked smirk. "You're a piece of work I like you", he stated before stomping off.

"I'm not a demon", Tara breathed in relief sharing a happy smile with Willow.

"Mr. Maclay, I would say your business here is finished", Giles stated with his authority voice.

"Tara, for eighteen years your family has taken care of you and supported you. If you wanna turn your back.." Mr Maclay tried to guilt her but she interrupted him.

"Dad... just go", she stated sadly. Her father scowled darkly and stomped away with rest of the family following.

XXX

The next evening they celebrated Tara's birthday at the Bronze and Buffy got to spend much missed quality time with her friends, without worrying about slayer business. After the party was over, Buffy and Angel made a quick sweep through the cemeteries and returned to the house where to Buffy's great surprise, her mother gave a permission for Angel to stay the night. She wasn't going to look into the gift horse's mouth but she knew it had to have some kind of purpose.

Buffy and Joyce were sitting in the living room as Angel was doing the dishes, after making a large breakfast he had insisted on cleaning up since he didn't have much to do during the day. Buffy turned to look at her mother expectantly, she could feel she wanted to say something but didn't know how to voice it.

"Honey, I've been thinking. Dawn's school is doing some construction work, and for some Lord know what reason, they have decided to give the students the week off. So I was thinking, you could take Dawn to stay with you and Angel for few days, she could see her father and shop for school clothes", Joyce said, raising a crooked smile to Buffy's face.

"So the reason you let Angel stay for the night wasn't because of his gourmet breakfast", she teased and received a chastising look from her mother.

"Buffy", Joyce sighed with a slight smile.

"I was only teasing, mom. Dawn can stay with us. Cordy can look after her while I'm on class", Buffy promised, she wasn't going to tell her mother the real reason why she was so willing to take her little sister to stay with her. The demon attack had frightened her and she wanted to keep a more close eye on Dawn. 'Cordelia is going to be so thrilled', she thought to herself with a sarcastic tone. She knew Angel wouldn't mind but doubted Cordelia was going to thank her for babysitting duty.

"That's wonderful, honey. Dawn will be thrilled. And it will do her good to see her father after such a long time", Joyce said with a wide smile, pulling Buffy out of her thoughts. She was about to say that she doubted Dawn would meet their father since she had been living in LA and hadn't had the chance to see him, but she kept quiet, not willing to spoil her mother's good mood.

"How have you been feeling? Still having headaches?" she changed the subject.

"I'm fine, the medication is working time to time. I'm going to some tests on Tuesday."

"Tests? What tests?" Buffy asked rapidly getting worried. Joyce offered her a comforting smile.

"Nothing to worry about. They're just going to do some new blood tests", she assured her daughter.

"They're gonna take blood, again? Soon you won't have any left."

"Honey, you're worried about nothing. It's probably nothing, just a precaution", Joyce tried to calm her down, placing a comforting hand over her hand.

"But..." Buffy tried to protest but was interrupted by her mother. "Stop worrying so much, you already have the weight of the world on your shoulders, I don't want to be another burden. I'm fine. The headaches are milder and farther in between."

Buffy let out a petulant sigh but didn't push further, she didn't want to put any more stress on her mother. Angel appeared to the doorway and the two women turned to look at him.

"Hey. Mom asked us to take Dawn to stay with us for few days, you don't mind, do you?" Buffy questioned and Angel shook his head.

"Of course not", he answered, earning a bright smile from Buffy. She jumped to her feet and happily strode to him.

"A sweet guy, who can cook and even does the dishes, you're quite a catch you know", she said with a crooked smile and rose to her tiptoes to kiss him. Uncomfortable about signs of affection in front of her mother, he cut the kiss short and stepped back, placing his hands into his pockets. Buffy chuckled at his action but understood his uneasiness, her mother was sitting just some feet away.

"I think I should go get your dinner", she stated in a quiet voice and grabbed her jacket.

"You don't have to", Angel started to protest, the thought of feeding in front of other people made him even more uncomfortable than kissing Buffy in front of her mother.

"When is the last time you ate, huh? Yesterday morning? I'm getting you some blood", she said still keeping her voice hushed enough so her mother couldn't hear. She turned to her mother. "I'm gonna make a quick run at the store, do you need anything?"

"No, I don't think so", Joyce answered with a smile. Buffy nodded and left, carefully opening the door so there wouldn't be much sunlight coming inside.

XXX

Dawn strode through the office doors with Buffy and Angel trailing behind her, carrying heavy bags. "You didn't need to back your whole room, you're staying just few days", Buffy said after her.

"Just because you're fashion challenged doesn't mean I have to be", Dawn shot back and started looking around herself, finally going to the elevator.

"I think we should follow her before she breaks something", Buffy stated and headed towards the stairs as Dawn had already occupied the elevator. When they reached the apartment, Dawn was going through the refrigerator.

"You don't have any food in here, only blood", she pointed out.

"There should be tomatoes and cheese. And crackers in the cabinet", Buffy said, setting the bags on the floor and walking into the kitchen. Dawn didn't seem satisfied with her answer.

"I'll make you a bed and stop by a store, get the evening snack and breakfast, we can get the dinner tomorrow while shopping."

Dawn instantly brightened, she was nearly bouncing on her feet at the thought of getting to shop in LA. "Oh, I can't wait to get new clothes!" she exclaimed giddily.

"I know. But try to remember we're on a budget", Buffy reminded her and received a glare shot her way, but it wasn't enough to damper Dawn's good mood.

"I have to call Cordelia, we'll go get the groceries after that, okay?" Buffy suggested.

"Fine", Dawn sighed and settled to the couch, starting to flip through the channels on the television Buffy had convinced Angel to get, not that they ever had the time to actually watch it. Buffy grabbed the phone and went to the bedroom to talk in private. She sat down to the bed, dialing the number and waited till Cordelia answered.

"Hey... It's Buffy... Yeah, we're back. I was just calling that Dawn is going to be staying here for a few days... No, nothing is coming after her here... No... I just wanted to make sure you know when you come to work tomorrow given you've never seen her before... Yeah, that was pretty much it... Okay, I'll hang up now. Bye."

Buffy hung up the phone shaking her head, sometimes she felt like when she was talking to Cordelia, she was making another conversation in her head. With a sigh she got off the bed and made her way to the kitchen, seeing Dawn still sitting on the couch, laughing at something on TV.

XXX

Cordelia came to work, once on time. She noticed the teenage girl by the desk, flipping through some magazine with a bored expression but figuring it was the glow ball girl, she ignored the girl and walked to her bosses girlfriend.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class already?" she questioned without the usual 'good morning', she was still pissed that the couple had again packed up and left to Sunnyhell leaving her to look after the shop, sure it was just for two days but that was no excuse.

"Good morning to you too, Cordelia", Buffy said back and kept sipping her coffee.

"So how was what's her name's party?" Cordelia asked not very interested on the matter.

"Tara", Buffy reminded her and Cordelia shot her a 'and I care why...'-look.

"We almost got killed by invisible marrow sucking demons", Dawn said helpfully and Cordelia scrunched her face in disgust.

"So business as usual", she stated going to her desk that Dawn had finally abandoned.

"Okay, I gotta head out to class. I know this is a big favor to ask but... Could you watch after Dawn while I'm out?" Buffy asked Cordelia with her best begging look.

"What do I look like, a babysitter?!"

"I don't need a babysitter!" Dawn protested with a scowl, earning a similar look at her way from her sister.

"Yes you do!" Buffy shot back with her hands on her hips and turned pleadingly to Cordelia.

"Fine, I'll look after her. On the condition, I get to shop for my date clothes on work time", Cordelia bargained.

"Okay. She needs school clothes anyway", Buffy gave in.

"She's right here!" Dawn reminded them of her presence, annoyed that they talked about her like she wasn't in the room. Buffy turned to her sister.

"My last class ends at four. Try not to get into trouble", she said before grabbing her bag and heading to the door.

"I'm not going to get into trouble!" Dawn protested and Buffy didn't say anything back, just sent her a knowing look and left. "I don't get into trouble **that** much", Dawn muttered to herself, pouting petulantly.

XXX

Dawn was giving Buffy and Angel very detailed introduction into every item she bought on her shopping spree with Cordelia. Unfortunately Angel wasn't all that interested in knowing how Dawn saw some blouse on the window and why the color was perfect on her and how the popular kids in school would die after seeing her wearing it.

"I think I have to check something with Cordelia before she leaves", he stated and looked at the two women as if asking for permission.

"Go ahead, escape", Buffy whispered to him with a smile. Angel got up and headed upstairs, hearing Dawn continuing where she left off as if he hadn't left.

He found Cordelia in the office, applying make up. "You look nice", he stated from behind her and managed to startle her, in the process making her smear her lipstick to her cheek. She spun around, giving him a quick glare before turning back to the mirror.

"And now I look like the Joker", she stated, wiping the stain off.

"Sorry."

"Hopefully I'm still too young and carefree for a heart attack. Would it kill you to hum a little tune when sneaking up on people?"

"I don't hum", Angel stated and went through the files, frowning. "I'm confused here. Why is Mrs. Bensen filed under P?" he questioned and Cordelia turned, walking to him and looking at the file.

"That's not a P that's an F. Or possibly an R", Cordelia answered, her face scrunching as she started thinking about what letter it was.

"I don't know. Maybe we could be a little less young and carefree with the filing?" Angel suggested only to be ignored like he hadn't said anything.

"Oh, it's an F. I remember now", Cordelia stated, the realization hitting her.

"All right, so... Why is Mrs. Bensen filed under F?" Angel asked not understanding her way of thinking.

"Because she is from France. Remember what a pain she was?" "

Yeah. She made me want to drink a lot", Angel answered, not remembering the case with fondness.

"Well, that's the French for you", Cordelia stated like everything was explained. Buffy walked into the office breathing a sigh of relief as Dawn was packing away her new clothes, if she didn't know better, she'd think Dawn was on speed.

"You have a little lipstick on your cheek", Buffy pointed out and quickly Cordelia started wiping it away.

"So, what time are you going to your..." Buffy started asking when the door opened and Wesley walked in.

"Hello everyone. I was just in the neighborhood, patrolling with my new Bavarian fighting axe", he said proudly and pulled out a axe from behind his back. "...when I suddenly thought that perhaps Cordelia has had a vision, perhaps you need my help in the battle against evil", he continued.

"We seem to be evil free at the moment", Cordelia stated shrugging her shoulders.

"I also packed along a Word Puzzle 3-D, if you have the nerve to take me on", Wesley said pulling the game from his bag.

"Gee, Wesley, I'd love to but unlike you, I'm not in my 80's quite yet", Cordelia said sarcastically.

"I'll play", Dawn said from the door, pulling Wesley's gaze to her.

"You remember Dawn, don't you, Wes", Buffy said pointedly, grilling her eyes into him.

"Umm... Yes, of course, Dawn", Wesley stumbled, understanding that Buffy must have had a point even though he couldn't recall any meeting with the teenage girl.

"Hey, Wes", Dawn greeted with a smile. Wesley gave her a nod of acknowledgment and turned his attention back to the other members of the group, making a note ask about Dawn as soon as he had the chance.

"So how about a couple of rounds of Word Puzzle 3-D?" he asked waving the game in front of the group.

"Again, I have a life", Cordelia stated.

"If shaking your booty at the latest trendy hot spot is your idea of a life, then call me..." Wesley started to say but was interrupted when two women walked through the door. "...sick with envy", he finished the sentence. The other woman looked at Wesley up and down.

"Hi, I'm Sarina. Nice axe", she said and Wesley laughed like a school boy in front of a girl he had a crush on.

"Oh this old thing..." Wesley played it off, swinging the ax from side to side till accidentally striking it to the wall. He tried to pull it off, not succeeding.

"We're late. Wilson practically had to have phone sex with the manager at Lounge La Brea to get us in", Sarina said to Cordelia.

"Oh. How do I look?" Cordelia asked spinning around to show her outfit.

"Like you always do. Wilson won't be able to take his eyes off of you", Sarina assured her.

"Who's Wilson?" Angel questioned.

"Christopher", Sarina added helpfully. "Christopher Wilson?" Angel asked.

"Wilson Christopher", the blond with Sarina stated.

"No! The ethno-archeologist from Brandeis?" Wesley asked ready to get excited.

"The fashion photographer from LA who's been seeing Cordelia. Third times the charm", Sarina explained, giving Cordelia a look before turning back to Wesley. "And that Hugh Grant thing is really starting to work for me."

"So, you've been seeing someone. How come I didn't know?" Angel questioned Cordelia.

"Because I'm ashamed of you", she answered flippantly, turning to look at Buffy before adding, "All of you. Not to mention how you'd embarrass me by giving him the third degree."

"Your boss could give me the third degree anytime", the blond said looking at Angel up and down, not noticing the glares Buffy and Dawn were sending her way. Buffy was about to speak, put the woman in her place, when Cordelia grabbed her head in pain and fell to the floor. Noticing the vision coming, Angel knocked down papers to the floor and said, "Cordelia, grab that file. Sorry."

Wesley hurried to the desk and started gathering the papers from the floor as Cordelia was writhing from the pain behind the table. Buffy went to her, quickly taking a medicine bottle from the desk drawer and keeping Cordelia's head from banging to the floor as she violently shook from the force of the vision.

"So, La Brea. Sounds like that could be an evening", Angel started, leaning against the desk. Wesley got up from the floor and stood next to him, they both covered the two women from sight. "...with all sorts of evening type... I heard the bands there are..." Angel continued to stumble with words, trying to stall the girls.

"They don't have any bands", Sarina stated.

"Which I like. Because if it's too loud..."

"Want to come?" the blond asked and Buffy's head shot up.

"Oh, I think I may be busy. Beside... I.. umm, I don't lounge all that well", Angel answered.

"Good one! Oh, yes. No, he's no lounger, this one", Wesley laughed placing his arm over Angel's shoulder.

"The good ones are always gay", Sarina stated to the blond and Buffy let out a amused laugh, it appeared she didn't have to resort to jealous violence after all. Quickly Wesley let go of Angel, embarrassed of the situation and not knowing what to do with himself.

"Cor, tick, tock", Sarina reminded impatiently. Buffy handed Cordelia a painkiller which she gladly took. "Thanks", she whispered and got up to her feet straightening her clothes.

"So, that client I'm supposed to be meeting tonight... What's he like again?" Angel asked turning to Cordelia.

"Like a big baby hatching from a big egg with really large hands, in need of a manicure. You're meeting him here", she answered and handed him a piece of paper with a address on it. After that Cordelia and her two friends left.

Angel grabbed his coat, ready to go but Buffy hesitated, looking at Dawn, not willing to leave her alone. "I don't suppose you need any help, slaying the big baby creature, do you?" Wesley questioned following the busy vampire.

"You could look after Dawn while we're out", Buffy suggested contemplating the idea. Angel walked to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"How about Wesley and I take care of the demon, you can have some quality time with your sister", he suggested and Wesley practically beamed at the prospect of getting to come along. Buffy glanced at her former watcher, resisting the need to roll her eyes at him.

"Fine. But promise you'll be careful", she amended.

"Of course", he said and placed a soft kiss to her lips. He grabbed his sword and walked out the door with Wesley following.

"Her sister?" he questioned just realizing what Dawn had been called.

XXX

Angel and Wesley walked into the apartment, both splattered with yellow goo. Buffy lifted her gaze from the book she had been reading and let out a short laugh after seeing the two men.

"Rough day at the office?" she asked with a chuckle.

"We caught a Tahval demon ready to hatch, it was quite a fight", Wesley said proudly, there was still a good smear of the demons fluid on his cheek.

"Well, by the looks of you two, I'm glad I was on babysitting duty", she stated and got up from the couch. She could hear Dawn huffing in irritation but for once she didn't say anything. Buffy walked to Angel, inspecting his smeared clothes, not seeing any holes in them.

"I think I'm gonna go wash up, I believe the demons blood is starting to smell", Wesley stated and headed to the bathroom.

"Hey", Buffy whispered in greeting and rose to her tiptoes, giving Angel a soft kiss, carefully avoiding getting any demon goo into her own clothes, a talent she mastered after much practice.

"Gross", Dawn said from behind them, wrinkling her nose.

"I think you should take a shower", Buffy stated after pulling away from the kiss.

"You're probably right", he said, he could smell the drying demon blood and it wasn't a pleasant scent. As on cue, Wesley walked out of the bathroom, joining rest of the group.

"Hey Wes, wanna play the Word Puzzle? I'm so gonna kick your ass", Dawn questioned waving the game as a prize.

"I accept your challenge, young lady. But let me warn you, I am unbeatable", Wesley said and headed to the kitchen.

"That remains to be seen, watcher", Dawn said squinting her eyes like in an old western and laughed not able to keep a straight face.

"Buffy, do you want to play?" Wesley asked but Buffy shook her head.

"No, you crazy kids go ahead", she said and followed Angel to the bedroom, not seeing the tongue Dawn showed her.

"Did you tell Wesley about Dawn?" Buffy asked Angel in a hushed tone.

"I didn't tell him much", he answered. Buffy glanced at her sister and former watcher, then turned her gaze back to Angel. "That's probably safest for everyone", she stated.

"But he's curious."

"I figured. But how much should we tell him? After some torture he would be singing like a bird."

"Buffy, he's changed since Sunnydale", Angel chastised her.

"I know. But this is my sister's life we're talking about", she answered and again turned to look at the two people in question.

XXX

At noon Buffy walked into the office finding a blanket draped over the chair and Angel pulling his jacket on. He turned to look at her, clearly surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?" he asked glancing at the clock on the wall.

"Free period, remember. And where are you going in the middle of the day?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at him pointedly.

"Cordelia hasn't shown up for work today and she doesn't answer her phone", Wesley answered as he walked into the room with Dawn following. He had spent the night on the couch as he had fallen asleep during one of his games with Dawn.

"That's weird", Buffy stated to herself, usually Cordelia was late for work but she didn't just not show up at all, at least not without calling.

"We're on our way to check her apartment", Dawn explained helpfully, glad to get out of the apartment. Really, how many times can you play Word Puzzle 3-D?!

The group left the office with Wesley driving Angel's car and Angel himself hiding under a blanket. When they arrived their destination, Angel was the first out of the car, dashing out of the sunlight. Angel knocked on the door.

"Cordelia!?" he called out but there was nothing. "Why hasn't she answered the phone, it's after noon, she must be home", he stated to himself.

"Maybe she just unplugged her phone? Or maybe she spent the night somewhere else?" Wesley suggested.

"Cordelia?!" Angel yelled again and once there was no answer, he forced the door handle down and walked in.

"Or we could make a breaking and entering", Wesley stated following Angel into the apartment.

"Oh God, she's dead!" Dawn gasped.

"Angel's been here before", Buffy calmed her down, walking past her looking around herself at the apartment, to her relief there was no signs of struggling.

"So she might not be dead", Dawn stated.

"Cordelia?" Buffy called out. "I'm getting a bad feeling here", Angel stated.

"I thought it was just me", Wesley said peering into the kitchen.

"This isn't like her."

"Avoiding her responsibilities? Lately it seems quite like her", Wesley stated remembering the fact that she had given them the wrong address, it had nearly let the Tahval demon to get free in the world. Angel walked to the bedroom with the group following.

"I'm sure it'll all work out once we..." Wesley kept talking as they walked into the room but then he saw her laying on the bed, clearly very pregnant and looking miserable. "Mother of God", he gasped.

"Angel?" Cordelia whispered, not looking up. "It's alright. We're here", Angel said calmingly.

"I'm ready to wake up now. I.. I don't seem to be.. waking up", Cordelia said with misery marring her voice. She finally looked up. "Help me."

Angel walked closer to her and sat to the edge of the bed. "We're going to. What do you remember?"

"Well, we went to the club. And Wilson and I just sort of hid out on this couch and we talked and talked, and then he drove me home and I asked him in. He was really nice. And we... you know? It was normal. He was normal and it was safe, it was... it was all really safe!" she explained nearly in tears, not understanding how it all had happened.

"It's okay. Have you talked to Wilson?" Angel asked softly.

"No, I haven't talked to anyone. What would I say to him, 'I had a really great time. I think you left something at my place'? I don't think this is right."

Buffy grabbed the phone from the night table and offered it to Cordelia. "You should call him, he might have some answers to what is happening to you", she encouraged but Cordelia shook her head vehemently.

"I can't", she choked out.

"Just dial his number and I'll talk to him", Angel said and took the phone from Buffy, handing it to Cordelia. She dialed the number and handed to phone back to Angel.

"I'm being punished", she said, her eyes glistering with tears she wouldn't shed.

"You're not being punished", Buffy answered sternly but still keeping her voice nonthreatening.

"We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise", Wesley said. Angel hung up the phone after hearing it was disconnected and there was no new number. He turned to Cordelia.

"He's not answering right now", he lied, there was no need to upset her further. "I want you to rest, and we're going to handle this. You're not alone", he assured her.

"That's sort of the problem, isn't it?" she said looking down at her swollen stomach.

"I'm gonna make some calls, try to get a hold of Wilson", Angel said and Cordelia nodded. He got up from the bed and walked out of the room, Wesley following him out. Buffy sat next to Cordelia as the door closed.

"Are you okay?" she asked and Cordelia shook her head. "No."

"We're gonna find out what's going on. Everything's going to work out", Buffy promised, she had never seen her high school tormentor so vulnerable.

"I know", Cordelia whispered and closed her eyes as if it would block the nightmare away.

"Cordy, I'm gonna go talk to Angel. I'll be back", she said tentatively and Cordelia nodded her head, not opening her eyes. Buffy got up and walked to the door, stopping next to Dawn. "Can you stay with her?" she asked and Dawn nodded. Buffy gave her a small smile and walked out, finding Angel just hanging up the phone.

"Any luck with your contact?" Wesley asked as Angel set the phone down.

"Wilson's home and business phones have been disconnected, no unlisted numbers, no forwarding addresses, no criminal record."

"Well, that's something", Wesley sighed.

"But not enough", Buffy stated.

"I'm guessing it's some kind of procrea-parasitic demon", Angel speculated.

"A demon who can only reproduce by implanting a human woman with its seed. Yes, I've heard of such entities. But the human mothers..."

"Rarely survive labor. And the ones that do, wish they hadn't", Angel finished for Wesley.

"Not good", Buffy muttered with a heavy frown.

"If she's that pregnant in one night, she could give birth at any moment", Wesley stated and all three frowned.

"What exactly is she going to give birth?" Buffy voiced the question that was on everyone's mind.

"We have to move fast. Wesley, you're gonna have to see what's inside her", Angel said and Wesley looked taken back.

"I beg your pardon?" he cried out.

"I think Angel meant like taking her to an prenatal exam", Buffy assured him, then turned to Angel. Right?"

Angel chuckled and nodded his head. "Yeah, that's what I meant", he confirmed.

"What about you?" Wesley asked still embarrassed from the confusion.

"I'm going to find Daddy", he stated and turned to Buffy. "And you're going back to class."

"No, I'm not. I think this is more important than the two classes I have left", she stated sternly and Angel could see there was no use in debating with her.

"Fine. I'll see you later", he said, pressed a quick kiss to her lips and left. Buffy turned to Wesley, quickly glancing at the bedroom door.

"Is it bad that I'm actually a little jealous of her pregnancy. I know, demon spawn and all that but... one day I would like a miniature Angel but I know that's not happening", she questioned with a frown.

"No, it's not wrong", Wesley assured her.

"Just don't tell Angel, he already feels bad about not being able to have kids and go into sunlight-thing", Buffy warned him, she knew if Angel heard her, he would go guilt tripping before she could even say his name.

"I promise to keep your secret."

"Ookay, I guess we should get Cordy to the hospital", she stated with a frown, hospital was not a place she was looking forward on visiting.

They went to the bedroom. "Did you know Cordelia lives with a ghost. That's so cool!" Dawn exclaimed excitedly. "

Yeah, we know", Buffy answered and made her way to Cordelia. "Cordy, you need to get dressed, we'll take you to a hospital", Buffy said tentatively.

Cordelia turned to look at her sharply, her eyes widening in alarm. "Hospital?!"

"Just for a prenatal exam", Buffy assured her. She seemed to calm down a bit and started to awkwardly climb out of the bed.

XXX

Angel headed to the bar of the club Cordelia had gone to. He waited till the bartender turned around, slightly startling at seeing him. "Sorry, I didn't see you there", the bartender stated.

"I get that a lot", Angel shrugged it off.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked.

"I need some help."

"I'm kinda busy", the man shot him down, ready to go back to work.

"Yeah, I know. I won't take much of your time. A friend of mine was here last night. Her name is Cordelia, big smile, real pretty."

"Yeah, we get a lot of that", the bartender stated and continued his work. Angel pulled out few bills from his pocket, folding one of them and laying it down on the bar surface. "What's this?" the man questioned looking at Angel and the bill in turns.

"Probably an insult. I'm guessing that you're serving drinks day and night to jerks that think that they can buy anything."

"That be a good guess", the bartender answered.

"One of those jerks hurt my friend. I need to find him fast. Wilson Christopher." The bartender nodded in recognition. "I want to know who his friends are, where they hang..."

"Pretty much where ever Sarina tells them to. They travel in packs. The guys have the money, the girls have the pretty. The girls decide what club's the flavor of the month and Sarina rules the girls", the bartender told him. Angel nodded and turned to leave.

"Thanks."

"You're her boyfriend?" the man questioned as a afterthought.

"No. I'm family", Angel answered and headed to the phones to call one of his contacts to find out where Sarina lived.

XXX

Buffy and Dawn were keeping company to Cordelia while Wesley was trying to get them in to meet the doctor. If the normal Cordelia was difficult, the pregnant one was impossible. Buffy was enjoying the silence when a pregnant woman leaned closer to Cordelia and broke it.

"Do you know what it is?"

Cordelia's head spun to look at the woman with slitted eyes. "Boy or girl?" the woman clarified but didn't get an answer.

Wesley came half-running to the group of women and sat close to Cordelia. "Shouldn't be long now", he stated and leaned closer. "I told them that it was rather urgent", he whispered and Cordelia sent a irritated glare at his way. Deciding it was safer to keep the distance, he pulled back and kept quiet.

"You're carrying low. I bet it's..." the woman said and reached for Cordelia's stomach.

"Shut up! Don't touch me!" Cordelia yelled at the woman, jumping back out of reach. Everyone looked startled but it was Buffy who recovered first.

"She's under a lot of stress", she told the woman who nodded in understanding but still looked at the pregnant Cordelia warily. Thankfully it wasn't a long wait till they got to the examination room.

"Just the mother and the father", the doctor said to Buffy and Dawn as they followed Cordelia and Wesley.

"We're her sisters and we're coming", Buffy stated sternly, getting a skeptic look from the doctor.

"They're coming too", Cordelia said with her no negotiation voice as Wesley helped her to get up to the exam table. With a sigh, the doctor closed the door and started the examination.

"You're what, eight and a half months along?" the doctor questioned.

"Feels like only yesterday, doesn't it?" Wesley stated, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly.

"Well, I see you left a lot of blanks on the patient information form. It would help to have the name of your previous doctor", the doctor said looking through the papers.

"You're the only doctor we've been to..." Cordelia started but was interrupted by Wesley. "...in California. We just moved here from England."

"All of you?" the doctor questioned, looking at the two women beside Wesley.

"No, we live here", Buffy stated.

"So, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked turning back to Cordelia while the nurse prepared the equipment.

"I'm as big as a house, everything hurts, I..." she started to answer, getting irritated very fast.

"That's all normal at this stage. And once your little one comes out, which will probably be in no time, you'll feel a lot better", the doctor assured her but it didn't make her feel any better.

"God, it's a nightmare", she sighed shaking her head. "Hormones", Wesley whispered the explanation.

"All right, Mrs. Penborn, why don't you lie back and see what's baking in the oven?" the doctor said deciding to ignore the future mother. Cordelia lied down, keeping a firm hold on Wesley's hand as the doctor spread the gel. "Hmm, looks like somebody is having twins", he stated looking at the monitor.

"Twins?!" the group cried out.

"No, there is a third heartbeat. And another one."

Cordelia was getting anxious. Sharing the feeling, Buffy glanced at the brunette before making her way behind the doctor and looking at the screen. "Five... six..." the doctor kept on counting. Wesley and Dawn joined them to look at the screen.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Cordelia questioned seeing the alarmed looks.

"Wow, that's better birth control advert than anything they show on PE", Dawn stated and Buffy gave her a chastising look.

"I'm sure it's nothing. But I... I'd like to withdraw a little of the amniotic fluid just.. just to make sure that everything is... shipshape. So, nurse, if you would prep Mrs. Penborn right away?" the doctor assured and the nurse did as she was told. The doctor took out a large needle and turned to Cordelia.

"I need to tell you that there is a point 5% chance of miscarriage from the procedure. Now, it's a very small risk..." he started but Cordelia cut in. "I'll take it."

"Now, you'll feel a pinch. Just count backwards from five and we'll be done", the doctor instructed and pushed the needle into her, making Buffy cringe.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1... 1... 1... 1!" Cordelia counted her voice getting louder on each number.

"All done. Now, that wasn't too bad, was it? We'll just run a few tests..." the doctor said after handing the syringe to the nurse.

"Dr. Wasserman?" the nurse called out in alarm as the syringe started to crack. She dropped it to the floor and in no time it burned through the floor. The doctor looked at the floor, not knowing what to do. "Umm... Excuse me", he said and quickly exited the room with the nurse following.

"You saw what's inside of me? Right?" Cordelia questioned.

"I think we should find Angel", Wesley stated and Cordelia looked at him with slitted eyes.

"Wesley! Buffy! Please just tell me!" she commanded. "Cordy..." Buffy tried with a calming tone, not knowing what more to say.

"I just need to know. Do they look healthy?" Cordelia asked looking at Wesley with hopeful eyes. 'This is so not good' was the first thought in Buffy's head.

XXX

They got Cordelia to the apartment and Wesley stayed with her at the bedroom as Buffy tried to get a hold on Angel, though sometimes she doubted he knew how to answer to a cellphone, or at least there was a large possibility he didn't remember owning one. She sighed in relief as he walked down the stairs.

"Any luck?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"Some. I found Sarina, she's a victim too. Just as big as Cordelia. Wilson's rich buddies are in on it. Four of them, maybe more. I don't know how many women they've impregnated", he answered and headed to the desk, starting to flip through a phone book.

Wesley walked into the room. "You're back", he stated and then pulled out a picture from the ultrasound. "The situation is worse than you know. The ultra sound shows seven heartbeats. At least, maybe more. And with multiple pregnancies…" Wesley didn't finish the thought.

"Someone is raising an army", Angel stated thoughtfully. "Of what?" Buffy asked frowning.

"Good question. We need to find the fathers."

"Gun clubs?" Wesley questioned looking at the page Angel was reading. Buffy frowned and turned to him.

"Guns? Nah-ah. How many times do you have to get shot till you learn you and guns means you get shot!" she tried to stop him but he just gave her a look and started explaining.

"Sarina said Wilson and his buddies hang out at some private gun club. Guns and Cigars. She doesn't know where exactly. While I find them you should be narrowing down the species, maybe we can figure out a way to terminate this without hurting the women."

"And if we can't?" Wesley asked, not liking the possibility.

"Then we need to know what to do once they're born", Angel stated and started towards the stairs with Buffy and Wesley following on his heels.

"Yes, well, it must not come to that. The odds of Cordelia even surviving the birth are..." Wesley was saying when they noticed Cordelia in the kitchen, shoving a chunk of cheese into her mouth and drinking blood from a container. Angel grimaced at the sight.

"I don't think I ever realized just how disgusting that was", he stated and Buffy couldn't agree more, something about the sight of Cordelia drinking blood with some of it dripping down her chin, was making her stomach squeezy. She could handle vampires feeding, she didn't even notice Angel's drinking, she could be covered in demon blood and not get too disgusted by it but the sight Cordelia was making, was something else.

"Get her back to bed. Order her a pizza or something", Angel said tearing his eyes off of her.

"Did someone say pizza?" Dawn questioned giddily, jumping to her feet and making her way to the group. But then she saw Cordelia. "Gross! Goodbye, pizza", she said quickly walking away.

Cordelia put down the container and wiped the blood to the sleeve of her shirt. She looked at the group unfazed and walked past them. "I was hungry" , she stated and went back to the bedroom.

"We ran out of actual food this morning", Buffy explained, still grimacing at the sight she'd seen.

XXX

Angel walked into the gun club and found Wilson on the shooting range, just finishing. He casually leaned to the stall wall and waited for the man to notice him. Wilson turned around, startling as he saw Angel.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that in here. That's how accidents happen", he warned while changing a new clip into his gun.

"Speaking of accidents. I'm a friend of Cordelia Chase", Angel stated.

"This is a private club. Featured word: private."

"If you don't talk to me, I'll kick your ass. Featured word: ass", Angel shot back.

"Angel, right? Her boss?" Wilson questioned and raised his gun to Angel's head. "She told me all about you", he added. In a blink of an eye, Angel grabbed the gun, making him drop it before he took him into a chokehold.

"Yeah? Well, somehow I doubt that", he stated and threw the dirtbag against a pillar. "You're human, so you can't be the father. So you and your friends are just a link", he ground out, barely keeping his demon in check, he had already lost Doyle and been close to loosing Buffy, he wasn't going to loose Cordelia too. He tightened his hold on the man's shirt and struck him against the hard surface behind him.

"How does it work? Those things come to term, she'll die. You do know that?"

"So? I'm not telling you anything", Wilson scoffed, still confident.

"I was so hoping you'd say that", Angel stated and hit him hard. The man tried to fight back but it was in vain, Angel blocked his attempts and kneed him hard before hitting him again, making him fall down to the ground. Wilson's accomplices rushed into the room but Angel ignored them at the moment and concentrated on punching the idiot in front of him.

"Hey! Someone's mommy didn't teach him to play nice", one of the three men stated. Angel stopped and let Wilson climb up to his feet.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with", he threatened and Angel wanted to roll his eyes, why did he keep repeating that.

"You know, I'm starting to get the big picture here. You guys proxy for big daddy demon, he imbues you with his life force or whatever it is you're implanting in these women", Angel stated.

"He has trouble finding his own dates. We just... help him out a little. That's all", one of the man said. "Shut up, Jason!" Wilson commanded.

"And you get what in return, fame, money, success? That's it, isn't it? How else would losers like you get ahead? I mean, you'd have to become procreative surrogates for a vile demonic entity", Angel said.

"Well, mostly I do it for the sex", Jason prided with a smirk.

"Welcome to Los Angeles. There are worse things to be in business with", Wilson said and Angel suppressed a growl. He walked right in front of Wilson and ground out, "Where is he? Where is this demon you worship?"

"Even if we did tell you where to find him, it wouldn't matter, since you're about to have an accident", Wilson said with a smirk and pushed Angel back, grabbing the gun the other guy threw at him and shot Angel three times in the chest. Angel dropped down to his knees groaning in pain.

"I really don't like it when people shoot me", Angel stated growling in full game face and kicked the gun out of Wilson's hand. He got rid of the men easily in no time and ended the fight by kicking Wilson through a glass door. He stepped over the scraps of the door on stepped on his face.

"Now you're going to tell me what I need to know", he stated, putting little more pressure on his foot as a emphasis.

XXX

Wesley was hunched over the desk with magnifying glass in his hand and a book and the ultrasound picture spread in front of him.

"Not very pretty guy, is he", Buffy stated with a grimace, looking at the drawn picture of the demon. "Yes, certainly not", Wesley agreed.

"That's him, isn't it?" Cordelia questioned from behind them, startling them both. She picked up the book and ran her finger along the lines of the picture.

"I ask that you not overreact. Keep in mind that oft times these 16th century engravers tended to exaggerate..." Wesley tried to calm her down but stopped to look at her as there were no signs of worry. She just looked at him and closed the book. Then suddenly she hit Buffy with it, knocking her unconscious to the ground.

"Buffy!" Dawn cried out, jumping to her feet in the living room.

"You're not going to hurt my babies", Cordelia stated and hit Wesley, knocking him down. She turned sharply and grabbed Dawn, dragging her along with her despite the young girls struggling.

"No one is going to hurt my babies!" Cordelia swore and threw Dawn into a closet, bolting the door closed.

XXX

Buffy groaned in pain as she started to wake up with a blinding headache. She looked around herself, not seeing Cordelia but finding unconscious Wesley lying next to the desk.

"Dawn!" she called out in alarm, frantically looking for her sister. "Buffy!" Dawn's muffled voice called back and she started pounding the closet door. Buffy sighed in relief and quickly let her sister out.

"You okay?" she questioned and Dawn nodded. They went back to Wesley, shaking him awake.

"Maybe we should throw cold water on him", Dawn suggested, receiving a chastising look from Buffy. Wesley used that moment to come back to consciousness.

"What are those books made of? Stone?" Buffy questioned sternly, she really didn't appreciate the headache she was still having.

"Yes, well, no", Wesley answered still a little confused. He grabbed the phone as it started ringing next to him on the floor. "Hello?"

"Wesley, it's Angel", came Angel's voice from the other end. Wesley mouthed his name to Buffy and slowly got off the floor he was still sitting.

"Angel, thank God", he breathed out in relief.

"I found Wilson. Whatever it is Cordelia is carrying around inside her, he's not the father", Angel stated, groaning in pain as he pulled out a bullet from his flesh.

"I know. It's a Hacksaw beast, an inner earth demon. And we have a problem. Cordelia ran off."

"Is Buffy and Dawn okay?" Angel questioned as soon as he heard what Wesley said.

"Yes, they are both perfectly fine. Cordelia became insanely protective when I identified the Hacksaw as the father of her... her... I fear she may have gone off to rendezvous with it", Wesley explained, picking up the book Cordelia had used to batter them with. Buffy stepped behind him, hovering closely to hear what Angel was saying. Wesley tried to chase her farther away but she just gave him a glare and he gave up, he had been hit over the head once already.

"She has. Miliken Industrial Park in Reseda, that's where Wilson and his friends built their shrine", Angel stated.

"How does Cordelia know that?" Wesley questioned, trying to find the answer from the text of the book.

"She's telepathically linked to its unborn. That's how it's controlling Cordelia", Angel answered, placing the third bloody bullet next to the phone book.

"Of course, a psychic umbilical cord. The Hacksaw's telepathic connection is what's sustaining its unborn spawn", Wesley said practically flogging himself for not realizing it before.

"So, all we have to do is cut the cord?" Buffy questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"We slay this demon and no more evil pregnancies. We can end this without harming the women but there is just one tiny problem", he said to the phone, talking to Angel and Buffy at the same time.

"What's that?" Angel asked.

"Well, I don't wish to use the words: impossible to kill. But fire won't kill it, decapitation won't. And it's really huge", Wesley answered with a frown.

"Wesley, can you shoot straight?" Angel asked and Wesley stood straighter, clearly baffled by the question. "Beg your pardon?"

Buffy stepped back and went to Dawn. "Dawnie, we're going to go get Cordelia, but you have to stay here. Lock the doors and don't let anyone in. You hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah", Dawn answered, getting a hard look from her sister.

"Dawn. Promise me", Buffy pressed. Dawn let out a tired sigh and stared at Buffy with slitted eyes.

"I promise."

Wesley hung up the phone and headed to the weapons cabinet. He grabbed a casing and pulled a pistol out of it. Buffy frowned, there had been a gun in the apartment and she hadn't even known about it. They went up the stairs with Dawn following.

"Lock the door", Buffy said through the door and waited for the click of the lock. "Did you lock it?" she questioned, trying the handle.

"Yeah, I locked it!" Dawn yelled tiredly from the other side, she was getting tired of the overprotective sister.

They went outside to Wesley's motorbike and he climbed on it, a sight that hadn't seized to amuse her, then he offered her the hot pink spare helmet. Buffy looked at it as if it was something poisonous, then directed her gaze to his.

"Come on now. We don't have all evening."

She shot a glare at his way and grudgingly took the helmet, putting it on and climbing behind him on the bike. He drove them to the warehouse and as soon as they had stopped, she pulled the helmet off.

"Ygh! I've never been that humiliated in my life", she griped while climbing off the bike.

"I don't think it is that embarrassing", he protested.

"Okay, maybe not. But very close", she shot back and threw the helmet to him, quickly making her way to where she saw Angel standing with a large cannister that had Liquid Nitrogen written on the side.

"Buffy", he whispered her name as he noticed the forming bruise on her face. He reached for it and ran his fingers along her cheek.

"Angel, I'm fine", she said with a reassuring smile, then her eyes landed on the bullet holes and blood on his shirt. "And you got shot again!" she accused. He just looked at her innocently and she rolled her eyes, who could resist those soulful, dark chocolate eyes.

Wesley joined them and Angel turned his gaze to him. "You got the gun?" he asked and Wesley nodded in confirmation. "Okay, let's crash a baby shower", he stated and grabbed the cannister from the ground.

Buffy and Angel waited by the doorway as Wesley tried to lure the demon out of his hiding place. As the demon stepped in to the open, Angel kicked the cannister down the ramp and casually walked after it with Buffy following.

"Sorry we're late to the baby shower. We brought a little gift", Angel stated and with Buffy's help, picked up the tank and they threw it at the demon. The demon caught it and Wesley shot the tank causing the demon to drop it as fog started pouring out of it. The women in the smelling water screamed in pain and everything just seemed to stop as the demon had frozen in place. Buffy walked to Wesley and took the gun from him, shooting the frozen demon, shattering it to pieces.

Wesley helped Cordelia out of the murky water, her pregnant stomach was gone but she didn't look happy to be soaked from the smelling water. "Are you alright?" he asked tentatively and Cordelia shot him a glare.

"I hate dating", she griped, then her eyes widened in realization. "Hope that didn't leave any stretch marks", she added with a frown.

XXX

Wesley made sure the women got to their homes and Buffy and Angel got Cordelia to her apartment, giving her few days off. After making sure Cordelia was alright, they returned to the apartment.

"Dawn, open the door", Buffy said through the door, maybe it was a little absentminded of her but she had forgotten the key while leaving with Wesley.

"You told me not to open the door to anyone", Dawn said from the other side. "Dawn!" Buffy sighed tiredly and finally the girl in question opened the door.

"Did you save Cordelia?" she asked. "Yeah. She's home", Buffy answered and they walked down the stairs into the apartment. The phone was ringing and Angel went to answer it.

"So she didn't give birth to a heard of demons spawns?"

"No, we killed the demon", Buffy answered tiredly. Angel came to the two girls and handed the phone to Dawn. "Your mother wants to talk to you", he stated and with a smile Dawn took it.

"Hey, mom", Dawn answered to the phone and went to the bedroom to talk in private. Buffy looked after her sister who was animatedly talking to their mother and she forced down the jealousy that was threatening to surface. She shook it away and turned to Angel with a frown on her face.

"I just hope she doesn't tell mom what happened", Buffy stated, then let out a dry laugh. "We can dream."

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned, finding Dawn pointing her with the phone. "Mom wants to talk to you", Dawn stated and handed Buffy the phone. With a wary look, she answered it and soon after grimaced.

"I know, mom... No I didn't... Look at the bright side, at least you don't have to do the safe sex speech to her", she offered and grimaced, turning her gaze to Angel, he eyes screaming for help.

.

To be continued...

* * *

**A/N:** I know, _Family_ was before _Fool for love_ (which was last chapter's re-write) but I took some liberties...


End file.
